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| Alabama Republican Senate primary: Roy Moore defeats Trump-backed Luther Strange | Alabama Republican Senate primary: Roy Moore defeats Trump-backed Luther Strange |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The former Alabama judge Roy Moore, one of the most controversial figures in Republican politics, is on course to become a US senator – in spite of opposition from Donald Trump. | The former Alabama judge Roy Moore, one of the most controversial figures in Republican politics, is on course to become a US senator – in spite of opposition from Donald Trump. |
| With 92% of the vote in, Moore, the former chief justice of the Alabama supreme court was ahead of appointed incumbent Luther Strange by a margin of 55 to 45%, in the Republican Senate runoff on Tuesday night. | |
| Moore’s victory comes despite being outspent by a margin of 10-to-1 against Strange, who had been appointed in January to the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions’ confirmation as US attorney general. | Moore’s victory comes despite being outspent by a margin of 10-to-1 against Strange, who had been appointed in January to the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions’ confirmation as US attorney general. |
| Moore was twice removed as Alabama’s chief justice, first for for refusing to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments that he famously installed in the state courthouse and more recently for refusing to implement the US supreme court ruling legalizing gay marriage. | Moore was twice removed as Alabama’s chief justice, first for for refusing to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments that he famously installed in the state courthouse and more recently for refusing to implement the US supreme court ruling legalizing gay marriage. |
| Despite that, he is considered an overwhelming favorite in the deep red state against Democrat Doug Jones in December’s general election. | Despite that, he is considered an overwhelming favorite in the deep red state against Democrat Doug Jones in December’s general election. |
| The result comes as a major blow to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell who had strongly backed Strange. A Super Pac closely linked to McConnell spent over $9m on behalf of the incumbent, who was considered a loyal supporter of Senate GOP leadership. However, Moore was able to turn McConnell’s opposition into an asset. In his election eve rally in a barn in Fairhope, Alabama, the loudest applause came when Moore declared “Mitch McConnell needs to be replaced”. | The result comes as a major blow to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell who had strongly backed Strange. A Super Pac closely linked to McConnell spent over $9m on behalf of the incumbent, who was considered a loyal supporter of Senate GOP leadership. However, Moore was able to turn McConnell’s opposition into an asset. In his election eve rally in a barn in Fairhope, Alabama, the loudest applause came when Moore declared “Mitch McConnell needs to be replaced”. |
| Moore’s win also will be embarrassing for Donald Trump who had endorsed Strange and appeared with him in a Huntsville rally on Friday. There Trump expressed ardent support for the man he called “Big Luther” but left plenty of wiggle room as he mused on stage that perhaps he made a mistake by endorsing Strange. Trump also called Moore a good man and pledged to campaign for him if he won the primary. | Moore’s win also will be embarrassing for Donald Trump who had endorsed Strange and appeared with him in a Huntsville rally on Friday. There Trump expressed ardent support for the man he called “Big Luther” but left plenty of wiggle room as he mused on stage that perhaps he made a mistake by endorsing Strange. Trump also called Moore a good man and pledged to campaign for him if he won the primary. |
| Despite Trump’s opposition, a number of fervent Trump supporters and former White House staffers had backed Moore. These include former chief strategist Steve Bannon who told voters at a rally for Moore that a vote for “a vote for Judge Roy Moore is a vote for Donald J Trump” and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson who issued a statement of praise for Moore on Friday. | Despite Trump’s opposition, a number of fervent Trump supporters and former White House staffers had backed Moore. These include former chief strategist Steve Bannon who told voters at a rally for Moore that a vote for “a vote for Judge Roy Moore is a vote for Donald J Trump” and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson who issued a statement of praise for Moore on Friday. |
| The consequences are likely to be harder for McConnell than for Trump. One Bannon ally told the Guardian on Tuesday night that “Mitch McConnell in a Republican primary is now what Nancy Pelosi is in general elections for Democrats” after Moore successfully used Strange’s support from the Senate Majority Leader as an attack. Strange’s defeat comes only hours after Tennessee Republican Bob Corker announced his retirement. Corker, a relative moderate within the Republican caucus, had long been considered a target by Bannon’s populist wing of the GOP in 2018. Bannon himself appeared on stage before Moore in Montgomery and celebrated Corker’s retirement. | |
| “So you all remembered we talked last night about starting a revolution with Judge Moore’s victory? Well Senator Corker stepped down today and he’s not going to run for re-election,” announced Bannon to loud applause. He went on to say that this set the stage for more candidates “who follow the model of Judge Moore and do not need to raise money from elites, fat cats, crony capitalists in Washington DC and New York City” to win in the future. | |
| Andy Surabian, the senior advisor to the Great America Alliance, a pro-Trump superPAC which backed Moore, saw the results as a precursor to further challenges to the Republican establishment in the midterms. The operative who helped orchestrate Sarah Palin’s appearance on behalf of Moore last week, told the Guardian that Moore’s win was the result of Tea Party-type conservatives making further gains within the Republican Party. | Andy Surabian, the senior advisor to the Great America Alliance, a pro-Trump superPAC which backed Moore, saw the results as a precursor to further challenges to the Republican establishment in the midterms. The operative who helped orchestrate Sarah Palin’s appearance on behalf of Moore last week, told the Guardian that Moore’s win was the result of Tea Party-type conservatives making further gains within the Republican Party. |
| “This is the continuation of what we saw in 2010,” said Surabian. “In 2010, we saw Rand Paul and Mike Lee get elected. In 2012, we saw Ted Cruz get elected. In 2014, we saw Dave Brat get elected. In 2016 , we saw Donald Trump get elected. Now in 2017 we’re seeing the rise of Judge Roy Moore. There’s only going to be more Donald Trumps and Roy Moores coming in 2018.” | |
| Republicans quickly embraced Moore. A McConnell allied superPAC put out a concession statement before the Associated Press had called the race. “While we were honored to have fought hard for Big Luther, Judge Roy Moore won this nomination fair and square and he has our support, as it is vital that we keep this seat in Republican hands,” said the statement from the Senate Leadership Fund. | |
| Trump himself tweeted “Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Nov!” The general election, however, is in December as Trump noted in a corrected tweet. | |
| The Republican senate nominee has a long history of controversial remarks. Most recently, in March, he praised Vladimir Putin to a Guardian reporter, saying “maybe Putin is right” on gay marriage. He went on to add of the Russian autocrat “Maybe he’s more akin to me than I know.” Moore also warned in a televised debate on Thursday that “sodomy [and] sexual perversion sweep the land.” The Republican Senate nominee also brandished a revolver on stage at a campaign rally Monday night to rebut charges that he was “soft” on gun rights. | The Republican senate nominee has a long history of controversial remarks. Most recently, in March, he praised Vladimir Putin to a Guardian reporter, saying “maybe Putin is right” on gay marriage. He went on to add of the Russian autocrat “Maybe he’s more akin to me than I know.” Moore also warned in a televised debate on Thursday that “sodomy [and] sexual perversion sweep the land.” The Republican Senate nominee also brandished a revolver on stage at a campaign rally Monday night to rebut charges that he was “soft” on gun rights. |
| Despite Moore’s history of controversy, Strange was impeded by scandals of his own. He appointed by then-Governor Robert Bentley to the seat despite the fact that Strange, then Alabama’s attorney general was investigating him. Bentley has since resigned and pled guilty to two misdemeanors related to his cover up of an extramarital affair. The result is that Strange has been left under an ethical cloud that his campaign was unable to shake. | Despite Moore’s history of controversy, Strange was impeded by scandals of his own. He appointed by then-Governor Robert Bentley to the seat despite the fact that Strange, then Alabama’s attorney general was investigating him. Bentley has since resigned and pled guilty to two misdemeanors related to his cover up of an extramarital affair. The result is that Strange has been left under an ethical cloud that his campaign was unable to shake. |