By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News

Today we are talking with Mo Brooks, the North Alabama Congressman who just this week threw his hat in the ring for the contest to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby.

Brooks ran for Senate once before in 2017 when a special election was called to replace Jeff Sessions, who was appointed attorney general. Brooks came in third in that primary to the appointed incumbent, Luther Strange, and the eventual nominee, Roy Moore. He actually talks a lot about that race in our conversation, which you'll find interesting.

Man, that feels like ten years ago, and it is politically, in many ways. The state, and specifically the Republican Party, has only grown more devoted to Donald Trump. Brooks has only grown into more of a firebrand on the right, and that's saying something. He gained national notoriety for starting the congressional effort to challenge the 2020 election results and was rewarded with a speaking slot at the Washington rally that preceded the Capitol riot. We talked about that a lot, too.

The point is, Brooks has aligned himself with where the very conservative Republican electorate is right now, both in policy and rhetoric. That makes him a very formidable candidate in this GOP primary, and most, including myself, consider him the front runner.

Look, it's going to be a long campaign, perhaps even longer than currently scheduled. Plenty could go wrong for Mo in the next 18 months and other candidates could catch fire. But right now he knows he has an advantage and is working to build a pace that makes it hard for others to catch up.

The feedback I hear most from readers and listeners is that what people like the most about our In the Weeds interview is how in depth and informative they are. People like to learn things they weren't aware of or hear politicians answer questions they've not been asked.

If that's the measure of a good interview, you're going to like this one. We talked about why he wants to be a senator, his lengthy career in public service, how that squares with his term limit position, his family background including his mom the economics teacher, his conversations with Donald Trump, the election objection process, his infamous "take names and kick ass" speech, Stephen Miller, redistricting, earmarks and what committees he wants to be on. In short, we really got in the weeds.

I greatly appreciate Congressman Brooks and his staff taking the time for this lengthy interview. He was gracious with his time and I believe candid with his answers. So here it is, In the Weeds with Mo Brooks.