U.S. Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., hasn’t been in Washington long, but he is already being granted the full protection of an incumbent senator.

Strange, who was appointed to the seat by then-Gov. Robert Bentley after Sen. Jeff Sessions became Trump’s attorney general.

Gov. Kay Ivey, who became governor after Bentley resigned, has set a special election for this December, and a number of people have announced their plans to challenge Strange in the Republican primary. They include ousted Chief Justice Roy Moore, state Rep. Ed Henry, and activist Randy Brinson.

But the National Republican Senatorial Committee is warning consulting firms that they would face retribution if they work against Strange in the August primary.

NRSC communications director Katie Martin told Politico, “We have made it very clear from the beginning that Sen. Luther Strange would be treated as an incumbent. It has also been a clear policy that we will not use vendors who work against our incumbents.”

Martin said Strange is considered an incumbent and will be protected like one.

Strange worked as a lobbyist in Washington for many years before returning to Alabama to enter politics. In his first bid for office, he lost the lt. governor’s race to Jim Folsom Jr. Four years later, he was elected attorney general, and was reelected in 2014.