In a Thursday media gaggle on Capitol Hill, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) was asked about former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions making a run to reclaim his old Senate seat, which is currently held by Senator Doug Jones (D-AL).

Asked by a reporter whether Shelby would endorse Sessions, Shelby responded, “Absolutely. Jeff Sessions is a friend. I worked with him every day up here for 20 years. He’s a man of integrity.”

“Of course, he’ll have to run his own race,” Shelby continued. “And that’s up to the people of Alabama [to decide]. But I believe he’ll be a formidable candidate.”

Watch, via Roll Call, here.

Sessions made his formal campaign announcement on Thursday evening. He will qualify for the GOP primary on Friday, which is the filing deadline.

Other qualified Republican candidates currently include former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville, Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-01), former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, Secretary of State John Merrill and State Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs).

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn