Article snippet: Next week, Alabama voters will head to the polls for a Republican primary runoff for the Senate seat previously occupied by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. After a first round of voting failed to yield a single candidate receiving a majority of the votes, two candidates are running for the Republican nomination in a race that has gained national prominence. Here's a look at what you need to know about the Alabama primary: The Senate seat was previously held by Alabama native Jeff Sessions, who served as senator for 20 years before his nomination by President Trump to serve as attorney general. Following Sessions' confirmation in February, then-Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley appointed the state's attorney general, Luther Strange, to temporarily fill Sessions’ Senate seat until the general election. Bentley later resigned after allegations that he used state resources as governor to hide an affair with one of his top aides. Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey replaced Bentley as governor following the resignation, and called for a special election in April. Sessions was first elected in 1997, and since then, the state has been represented by two Republican senators. In his last election in 2014, Sessions was unchallenged and won the general election with over 97 percent of the vote. The senior senator from Alabama, Richard Shelby, was elected for the first time in 1987 and is not up for reelection until 2022. In the 2016 presidential election, Trump won Alabama with... Link to the full article to read more