FAIRHOPE — Two candidates in Alabama's race for Tommy Tuberville's U.S. Senate seat spoke at a forum in Fairhope last Thursday, hosted by the Eastern Shore Republican Women.

Jared Hudson and Morgan Murphy, both running for the open Senate seat, spoke at Thursday's event. Steve Marshall was scheduled to appear but was unable to attend due to travel delays from Washington D.C. District 1 U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, who is also running, was in session the same day. As of Jan. 10, another candidate, Rodney Walker, is the only one to have qualified to run. All are running on the Republican ballot.

Hudson, a former Navy SEAL, cited his experience working in law enforcement and said he is someone who will die for his country and will dedicate his life to the people. The Birmingham resident unsuccessfully ran for sheriff in Jefferson County in 2022.

"I'm not a career politician telling you that I can go to D.C. and fight on your behalf," Hudson said. "I'm a real warrior who's fought for this nation, shot people for this nation and stood beside men far greater than me. I can go to D.C. and fight for you. Send a warrior to Washington."

Murphy cited his experience working in the Capitol. He said he has a close relationship with Tuberville, who is not seeking reelection to the Senate to instead run for governor, having previously worked with him as a national security advisor. He also worked under President Donald Trump as a press secretary to the U.S. Secretary of Defense.

"I can go into the Senate day one and be effective because I know how Washington works," Murphy said.

If elected, Hudson said his priorities would be affordability, national security and working with U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Montgomery, to bring public and private investments to the state. Murphy said his priority would be to bring more manufacturing industry, citing the Mercedes-Benz production facility near Tuscaloosa and how much tax revenue it has brought to the state.

On immigration, Murphy said border crossings have gone down under the Trump administration and said we need to look at the immigration system as a whole.

"Europe is getting lost," Murphy said. "You go to Paris, you go to Berlin, you go to London, they do not look like the place you visited 20 years ago. They're being overrun with people who don't share Western values, and that is happening here. It is happening in the United States, and we have got to stop it. That will be my No. 1 priority."

Hudson shared similar sentiments, calling for the assimilation of immigrants arriving in America.

"There's nothing wrong with other cultures, but they need to assimilate to our beliefs of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Hudson said. "We need to continue to take the fight to the enemy before they cross our borders, but we also need to make sure our immigrants assimilate to our way of life."

Party primary elections will take place on Tuesday, May 19, with a runoff election scheduled for June 16 if needed. The general election will be held on Nov 3.