Roy Moore, the former judge charged with teenage sexual misconduct decades ago, will run for the U.S. Senate in Alabama again, defying President Donald Trump’s and the Republican Party’s desires.
Moore’s entry into the 2020 race is worrying for the GOP, who sees the race as their greatest opportunity next year to pick up a Senate seat. Despite the deep red hue of Alabama, the former Supreme Court chief justice lost a 2017 special election to Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.
His decision is likely to make it more difficult for Republicans to maintain a majority in the 53-47 Senate. After his election to replace Jeff Sessions, who left the Senate in 2017 to become the first attorney general of Trump, Jones aims a full term in the Senate.
Moore stated on Thursday that the 2017 election was “fraudulent” and left Alabama voters “tired” of “dirty politics.” Alabama State Secretary’s office did not react instantly to a request to comment on whether any proof supported Moore’s claim that a disinformation campaign cost him the 2017 election.
The former judge rejected several accusations during the Senate special election that he made inappropriate advances on teenagers when he was in his thirties. On Thursday, he called all those claims fake and false information.
National Republican organizations warned that the entry of Moore into the race might destroy the efforts of the GOP to win the seat.
Moore has faced punishment more than once for how he has interpreted the law based on his religious beliefs. He was suspended in 2003 for refusing the order of a judge to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state Supreme Court building.
Then in 2017, after arguing that Alabama should maintain its ban on same-sex marriage, he lost an appeal to end another suspension. Before the 2017 election, Moore ran unsuccessfully for the statewide office. In both 2006 and 2010, he lost GOP gubernatorial primaries.
When he was asked today what he’d do otherwise to win in 2020, Moore said that he’d like to make more personal contact with people.