Alabama Senate Runoff: Moore Wins GOP Election Over Trump-Backed Strange

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Final election results in the race for the GOP nomination for the Alabama senate seat give Roy Moore the win with 54.6 percent of the votes to 45.4 percent for incumbent Sen. Luther Strange. The loss by Strange, who was backed by President Donald Trump and Republican party leaders, might be a reflection of the weakened support Alabama voters have for the president, or the strength of Moore's base in general.

The runoff had become heated as both candidates flooded the media with advertisements, and both had touted endorsements from prominent conservative figures. President Trump held a rally in Huntsville supporting Strange, and Moore was backed by former Trump staffer and Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon, and celebrities such as former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, actor Chuck Norris and reality TV star Phil Robertson.

Moore will now face off against Democratic candidate Doug Jones. That election will be held Dec. 12. Jones is a former U.S. attorney, and worked for Sen. Howell Heflin until Heflin opted not to run for re-election in 1996. Former vice president Joe Biden will be in Alabama next month campaigning for Jones.

A press release issued by the Senate Leadership Fund, which directed millions of dollars toward Strange's campaign, conceded the race to Moore at approximately 8:15. The Associated Press proclaimed Moore the winner at 8:30. Moore had 67 percent of the vote.

Moore was able to pick up several of the counties that third place finisher Mo Brooks carried in the general election, which helped secure his victory.

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Strange, who is technically the incumbent, has only been on the job for a few months, as he took over when Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. attorney general. Strange was chosen for the position by then-governor Robert Bentley before Bentley resigned amid allegations of an extramarital affair and ethics violations. Some critics of Strange have pointed to his failure to lead the investigation against Bentley and accused him of stopping the investigation in exchange for the Senate seat.

Moore has also been in the news this year, as he resigned his seat as the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice while he was suspended from that position. His indefinite suspension came when he refused to abide by a federal court order regarding marriage licenses to same-sex partners. This was the second time Moore had been removed from that same position. He had previously been removed for ordering a giant Ten Commandments monument to be displayed in the Alabama State Courthouse.

The displaying of the Ten Commandments has essentially been Moore's calling card and is largely what built his political career. Moore was a local judge in Etowah County when the ACLU filed a lawsuit against him for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. The lawsuit gained national attention and in turn gained Moore massive support statewide, hence beginning his career as a state politician.

Trump was in Huntsville Friday night campaigning for Strange, and said Strange has gotten a "bum rap" because he's already in the Senate. However, Trump said he would support Moore if he wins the runoff, though he thinks he will have a tougher time in the special election.

Campaigning continued on Monday with Trump calling an Alabama radio show to urge listeners to support Strange, who is needed to bolster the GOP's slim margin in the U.S. Senate. Moore has actively denounced Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. Vice President Mike Pence also campaigned for Strange in Birmingham while Bannon spoke at a Moore rally in the state, ABC News reports.

Trump's former chief strategist Bannon said Alabama can show the world "that this populist, nationalist, conservative movement is on the rise." He also condemned McConnell and said Republican "elites" had put millions of dollars into the Alabama race "to destroy a man."

Bannon said GOP party leaders supporting Strange view Alabama voters as “a pack of morons. They think you’re nothing but rubes. They have no interest at all in what you have to say, what you have to think or what you want to do. And tomorrow, you’re gonna get an opportunity to tell them what you think of the elites who run this country,” Politico reports.

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Photo of Alabama voter from Win NcNamee/Getty Images; photo of Luther Strange from Mario Tama/Getty Images; photo of Roy Moore from Matthew Cavannaugh/Getty Images