Alabama state Rep. James Lomax, R-Huntsville, called out former congressman Mo Brooks today in a series of social media posts following the news that Brooks would be running against him in the 2026 election.
Brooks will be campaigning to replace Lomax, currently in his first term as the state representative for District 20, in the Republican primary on May 19.
“I can see why he wants back in– we’re finally accomplishing meaningful results for the people of our state and he sees an opportunity to take credit after never accomplishing anything,“ Lomax posted to Facebook Friday.
“Mo’s grievance-filled, victimhood style of politics is dated and stale. While he sits at home writing anti-Republican blog posts and daydreaming about the good old days; I’ll keep working to ensure the best days are yet to come.”
Brooks wrote a conservative political column for AL.com in 2025. AL.com will not run a column from Brooks while he runs for office.
Brooks said previously that he would consider a run for the U.S. Senate if no Republican candidates emerged who he believed would respond to the most serious challenges facing the country.
In a news release Friday, he said he entered the representative race after he was “urged to come out of retirement and fight for our state.”
He went on to say that the “precondition” to his candidacy was for everyone “urging [him] to get back on the political battlefield” to raise $100,000, which would match what he said Lomax had raised.
Brooks said that to his “utter surprise,” his supporters raised that amount by Jan. 22.
“I am keeping my word and will qualify today to run in Alabama House District 20,” Brooks said Friday.
“I look forward to returning to the political battlefield and, once again, being a warrior for my family’s future and the state and people I love.”
Democratic candidate James Linderholm has also qualified to run, according to the Alabama Democrats website.
Brooks served as a state representative from 1982 until 1991, when he was appointed to serve as Madison County District Attorney and later served as the U.S. representative for the state’s 5th congressional district from 2011 to 2023.
Although Brooks received support from Donald Trump at one time, their relationship fractured when Brooks told voters at a Trump rally to put the disputed 2020 presidential election results behind them and “look forward.”
Brooks left office in 2022 after six terms in Congress and a federal judge threw out a lawsuit seeking to hold Brooks responsible for his remarks at a “Stop the Steal,” rally on Jan. 6.
