Four-term U.S. Representative Mo Brooks added his name to the growing list of Republicans vying for appointed U.S. Senator Luther Strange’s seat in 2017’s special election. Brooks is the sixth GOPer slated to appear on the mid-August primary ballot – one shy of the party record. The high water mark is currently the seven Republicans who ran to fill Democrat Howell Heflin’s open seat in 1996. That race, eventually won by Jeff Sessions, saw four Republicans reach double-digits in the primary – a feat that might be equaled in 2017 with Strange, Brooks, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, and State Representative Ed Henry already campaigning for the seat. Four candidates challenged Dick Shelby in the state’s 2016 GOP primary, with Shelby winning 64.9 percent – a party primary low by 19 points for a U.S. Senate incumbent in the state. Strange is assured to shatter that record in August.

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