Updated 9:21 p.m. | Alabama Republican Rep. Bradley Byrne launched his Senate campaign Wednesday, kicking off the contest to take on one of the most vulnerable senators in the country: Democrat Doug Jones.

“The main reason I’m running is that we’ve got somebody in the United state Senate, Sen. Doug Jones, who does not reflect the values or policy positions of the state of Alabama,” Byrne said in a phone interview after announcing his Senate run in Mobile.

Jones won a 2017 special election, upsetting former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. After emerging from a contested GOP primary, Moore faced decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls. A combination of increased Democratic turnout and Republicans who couldn’t stomach supporting Moore led to a narrow Jones victory, the first for a Democrat in the deep-red state in a quarter-century.

Even though Republicans are once again expecting a competitive Senate primary, party operatives largely aren’t worried about history repeating itself.

“If you have the ‘R’ by your name, you are going to beat Doug Jones, especially in a presidential year,” Alabama GOP strategist Brent Buchanan said.