Moore wins U.S. Senate GOP runoff in Alabama
Voters deal blow to Trump, who stumped for Strange
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Roy Moore, a firebrand former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, overcame efforts by top Republicans to rescue his rival, Sen. Luther Strange, defeating him Tuesday in a special primary runoff, according to The Associated Press.
The outcome in the closely watched Senate race dealt a humbling blow to President Donald Trump and other party leaders days after the president pleaded with voters in the state to back Strange.
Propelled by the stalwart support of his fellow evangelical Christians, Moore survived a multimillion-dollar advertising onslaught financed by allies of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader. His victory demonstrated in stark terms the limits of Trump’s clout.
Taking the stage after a solo rendition of “How Great Thou Art,” an exultant Moore said he had “never prayed to win this campaign,” only putting his political fate “in the hands of the Almighty.”
“Together, we can make America great,” he said, borrowing Trump’s slogan and adding, “Don’t let anybody in the press think that because he supported my opponent that I do not support him.”
For his part, Trump congratulated Moore in a tweet. “Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!” he wrote.
In a race that began as something of a political afterthought and ended up showcasing the right’s enduring divisions, the victory by Moore, will likely embolden other anti-establishment conservatives to challenge incumbent Republicans in next year’s midterm elections.
And more immediately, the party will be forced to wrestle with how to prop up an often-inflammatory candidate given to provocative remarks on same-sex marriage and race — all to protect a seat in a deep-red state. Moore’s incendiary rhetoric will also oblige others in the party to answer for his comments, perhaps for years to come, at a time when many Republicans would just as soon move on from the debate over gay rights.
On Dec. 12, Moore will face Doug Jones, a former federal prosecutor and the Democratic nominee, in a race that will test the party loyalties of center-right voters who may be uneasy about their nominee. It may also reveal just how reliably Republican the state has become in the quarter-century since a Democrat last won a Senate election here.
Jones said in a statement that Alabama needed a serious senator who would rise above partisanship and work with everyone in Congress. He criticized the debate among Republicans leading up to Tuesday’s election as lacking substance. “I will never embarrass the people of Alabama,” Jones said. “I am running so the people of Alabama can be proud of their next senator.”
But Moore, 70, has proved himself to be a political survivor. He has been effectively removed from the state Supreme Court twice — the first in 2003, over his refusal to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments in the courthouse; the second last year, when he urged the state’s probate judges to defy federal orders regarding same-sex marriage.
And in recent days, both the president and Vice President Mike Pence campaigned for Strange. Trump, an enormously popular figure in Alabama, cast aside the tradition of presidents treading carefully in contested primaries, as well as the warnings from his own advisers regarding a candidate trailing in the polls.
Yet instead of delivering a tightly crafted testimonial at a rally on Friday, the president rambled for nearly an hour and a half about a range of topics, while openly questioning whether he was making a mistake coming into the state for Strange, who oriented his entire run around Trump’s endorsement and stood looking on with a red Make America Great Again hat atop his head.