GOP Senate candidate may lose primary over past criticism of 'serial adulterer' Trump

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) is running for an open Republican Party senate seat in Alabama -- but his past criticism of President Donald Trump might soon come back to haunt him.

Even though Trump has poor poll ratings in much of the country, he is still very popular in Alabama. And as The Hill reports, strategists for Brooks' Republican primary rival, Alabama Sen. Luther Strange, are considering ways to use Brooks' past criticism of Trump against him in their race for Attorney General Jeff Sessions' old seat.

"Brooks declared during last year’s GOP presidential primary that he could not trust a 'serial adulterer' like Trump, then offered Trump only lukewarm support in the general election against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton," The Hill writes. "Alabama Republicans have in the past punished GOP lawmakers perceived as anti-Trump at the ballot box."

Brooks, for his part, brushed off his past criticism of Trump as simply part of politics, and he said that once the choice boiled down to Trump and Hillary Clinton, he easily found Trump to be the superior choice.

Nonetheless, University of Alabama professor and local political expert William Stewart tells The Hill that Brooks' past attacks will be strong fodder to use against him.

"I think this will come back to haunt since he’s said critical things against someone who is a very popular president, at least as far as this state is concerned," he said.