Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)

■ Roy Moore and his Alabama allies are struggling to raise campaign money.

- By Steve Peoples

NEW YORK — Alabama Republican Roy Moore has celebrated his fight against the political establishm­ent in both parties. The outsider story may resonate with Alabama voters, but the reality has a downside: The Senate candidate and his allies are almost completely cut off from the GOP’s traditiona­l donor network and struggling to raise money for the final-weeks sprint to Election Day.

Federal fundraisin­g reports released Friday reveal that Moore is losing the battle for campaign cash to Democrat Doug Jones.

Moore raised $1.7 million from Oct. 1 to Nov. 22, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Jones raised

$9.9 million over the same period.

The disparity has allowed the Democrat to dominate the Alabama airwaves and get-out-thevote efforts with the Dec. 12 election fast-approachin­g. Money isn’t always deciding factor — particular­ly for a Democrat running in conservati­ve Alabama — but Moore’s struggle hasn’t helped his effort to fight back against allegation­s of sexual misconduct that prompted much of his party’s leadership to turn their backs on his bid.

Abandoned by many GOP donors, Moore is now looking to President Donald Trump and his political network for a final-days boost.

On the same week that the White House said the president would not campaign in Alabama on Moore’s behalf, Trump agreed to headline a campaign-style rally in Pensacola, Florida — less than 20 miles from the Alabama border — just four days before the Alabama election.

And a political group aligned with former Trump strategist Steve Bannon is spending at least $150,000 on a new television, radio and digital advertisin­g campaign set to start running across Alabama over the weekend.

 ??  ?? Roy Moore
Roy Moore

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States