MONTGOMERY — Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is officially running for the U.S. Senate in 2020.
Surrounded by his wife, son and a handful of longtime supporters, Moore on Thursday formally announced that he will be a candidate for the seat currently held by Senator Doug Jones (D-AL), to whom Moore lost in 2017.
However, during his remarks downstairs from the Foundation for Moral Law’s office in downtown Montgomery, Moore told the group of approximately 30 members of the media assembled that the 2017 results were fraudulent and that he was the legitimate winner of the general election contest between he and Jones.
“I think I won the last election,” Moore claimed.
He said that Project Birmingham cost him the election, along with the vague assertion that “they brought people in from out of state.” Moore alleged that 650,000 Alabamians were reached with “false information” during the 2017 election.
Moore says there was “Republican collusion” in Project Birmingham besides it being conducted by Democratic operatives. Adds there is a coverup involved, which is why there hasn’t been an “after action report” spelling out who all was involved.
— Sean Ross (@sean_yhn) June 20, 2019
This led many observers to compare Moore to failed Democratic candidates Stacey Abrams and Hillary Clinton, as they also lost recent elections but have been unable to publicly accept the results as legitimate.
Moore addressed the claims of sexual misconduct against him from the last election cycle, saying he has not seen or heard from his accusers since then. He decried that in ongoing legal proceedings with one of the women, he has been unable to question her under threat of perjury. Moore emphasized that all of the allegations against him were “false.”
Much of Moore’s speech featured talking points he has harped on for years, including his support of keeping religion in the public sphere and defending traditional social conservative values.
He stated that the “one common denominator” of all Americans is “a belief in God.”
Watch the entire press conference:
Moore joins the Republican Senate field of Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-01), former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville and State Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs).
The leading GOP campaigns responded to Yellowhammer News’ request for comment on Moore entering the race.
Tripp Skipper, Tuberville’s campaign consultant, said, “Coach Tuberville is the clear front runner. He leads among conservatives, leads in every media market except Mobile, and voters that are going to vote for President Trump are much more likely to also support Coach Tuberville. Voters are tired of recycled politicians, and they want an outsider that is not constantly focused on re-election. Tommy Tuberville is the only candidate in this race that has a broad enough appeal to win the Republican nomination and to defeat Doug Jones in the General Election.”
Seth Morrow, Byrne’s campaign manager, remarked, “Bradley is a fighter who has won contested primaries before and we are ready to win this fight. We already have more than 200 strong conservatives across the state on our Grassroots Leadership Team. We’ve had over 600 volunteers sign up since we announced. Our campaign will win and defeat Doug Jones in 2020.”
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill is expected to make an announcement on his potential 2020 bid next week after filing his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
