MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Katie Britt, the former aide to Sen. Richard Shelby and the former head of the Business Council of Alabama, has won the Republican nomination in the US Senate runoff race Tuesday.

Britt, 40, was declared the winner by the Associated Press over Rep. Mo Brooks (AL-5) just after 8:30 p.m. with 65% of the votes. The race was called with 35% of the votes being reported. She had been the heavy favorite in a recent poll conducted by CBS 42, The Hill and Emerson College last week.

“Alabama has spoken. We want new blood. We want fresh blood,” she said at her victory party. “We want someone who will fight for Christian conservative values, who will fight for the freedoms and liberties this nation was founded on and will fight for the American dream for the next generation and the next generation.”

Brooks had requested a debate between the candidates ahead of the runoff election to which Britt declined. She narrowly avoided the runoff in the May 24 primary election, garnering nearly 45% of the votes. But due to not reaching that 50% threshold, second-place vote-getter Brooks forced another election.

“The next step is to send Joe Biden a message in November,” Britt said. “I am looking forward to working alongside my fellow Republican nominees across the country to retake the House and the Senate so we can once again put America first.”

Watch Mo Brooks’ concession speech here:

Britt had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump in the days leading up to the election which may or may not have swayed voters. The same poll found that the number of voters who took into account the endorsement fell from 50% to 40%.

Brooks had previously been endorsed by the former president but lost it in April 2021. Trump had not endorsed any other candidate before the primary and after Brooks attempted to get the backing again, Trump officially co-signed Britt.

Congratulatory messages for Britt have come from a handful of organizations and public officials since she was declared the winner. Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman for the Republican National Committee released a statement saying Britt “will advance Alabama values” and Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth tweeted that Britt “will be a great Senator.”

During his concession speech, Brooks said that if Britt wins the race against Democratic contender Will Boyd this fall, it will be because of special interest groups that he claims have defamed both him and Mike Durant during this campaign – something he said is the worst kind of influence he has ever seen on an election.

“We are sending to Washington, DC the exact opposite of what we need in the United States Senate, but the voters have spoken,” Brooks said. “They might not have spoken wisely, they may have been seduced by false advertising, but nonetheless they have spoken, and I respect their will.”

The general election between Britt and Boyd will be held Nov. 8.