MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday moved a special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions to 2017.

Former Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Attorney General Luther Strange to the post on Feb. 9. Bentley then decided not to hold a special election but to wait until the November 2018 general election, citing cost to the state.

The new schedule sets the special election primary on Aug. 15, primary runoff on Sept. 26, and the general election on Dec. 12, almost a year ahead of the previously schedule election date. Whoever wins the post must run again in 2020, when Sessions’ current term would have ended.

“I promised to steady our ship of state. This means following the law, which clearly states the people should vote for a replacement U.S. Senator as soon as possible,” Ivey said. “The new U.S. Senate special election dates this year are a victory for the rule of law.”

Bentley’s decision was controversial since Strange’s office had indicated it was investigating Bentley. Critics, including the state’s Legislative Black Caucus, also said Bentley was giving his appointee an unfair advantage of incumbency by allowing Strange to hold office for a year before facing election.

“This is not a hastily-made decision,” Ivey said. “However, following the law trumps the expense of a special election.”

Sessions’ seat was vacated when President Donald Trump appointed Sessions to U.S. Attorney General. Under Alabama law, the governor makes an interim appointment when there’s a Senate vacancy. The 1915 state law says if the vacancy occurs more than four months before a general election, the governor of Alabama shall “forthwith order an election” but does not specify a time frame beyond that.

The accelerated schedule kicks election season for the powerful position into overdrive. Candidates must qualify with political parties by mid-May, Secretary of State John Merrill announced Tuesday.

As the only Republican candidate to announce his intention to seek the post so far, Strange said he would be ready to run whether the election is next month or next year.

“ … I will spend the next several months being the best Senator I can be, upholding Alabama values and working with President Donald Trump to drain the swamp and help make America great again,” he said in a statement. “The people of Alabama deserve nothing less and ultimately it will be up to them to decide who will represent them in Washington.”

Democrat Ron Crumpton, who was beaten by U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby in the November general election, announced in February he would again seek election to the Senate. He praised Ivey’s decision to move the election date to 2017.

“With the cloud, still around former Governor Bentley’s appointment of Strange to the Senate and the Trump Russia scandal growing every day, there has never been a better time for Democrats to win in Alabama,” Crumpton said in a statement. “The people of Alabama deserve a Senator who will represent the people, not one who was appointed through the Montgomery “good ole boy” network. Strange is not that person. He has wasted millions of our dollars pursuing lawsuits that were unwinnable to further his own political future.”

Rep. Chris England, a Democratic legislator who had criticized Bentley’s plan to hold the election in 2018, praised Ivey’s decision.

“Governor Ivey’s announcement this morning puts us one step closer to turning the page on this ugly and shameful period in our state history. This demonstrates a departure from the backroom politics that we have seen for too long in Montgomery,” England said.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.