Alabama Judge Roy Moore Leads Battle to Fill Senate Seat Vacated by Jeff Sessions
Judge Roy Moore, who served as the chief justice for the Alabama Supreme Court, holds a strong lead among the candidates running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by now Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
That's according to a poll released this week.
JMC Analytics and Polling surveyed 500 Republican voters and found that Moore leads the field with 30 percent of the vote.
President Trump tweeted support Tuesday for Moore's top opponent, Sen. Luther Strange.
Strange is in second place with 22 percent of the vote, while U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, had 19 percent. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.
Tuesday the president tweeted that Strange "has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama."
Senator Luther Strange has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama. He has my complete and total endorsement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2017
Strange, who called Trump's election a "Biblical miracle," said he's honored by the president's support.
But Brooks wasn't happy with Trump's tweet.
"I respect President Trump, but I am baffled and disappointed Mitch McConnell and the Swamp somehow misled the President into endorsing Luther Strange," Brooks' statement said.
Over the past few years, Moore was twice removed from his duties as chief justice for refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Alabama.
He says he opposes same-sex marriage on the basis of his Christian faith.
More than a decade ago, Moore also said his faith was the reason he did not obey a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from Alabama's main judicial building.
This week's poll leaned toward groups Moore does best with: 70 percent of those surveyed described themselves as evangelical Christians, and 47 percent were aged 65 and older.
Actor Chuck Norris, a conservative, also recently endorsed Moore in Alabama's election.
"Judge Moore has never backed down from standing for what is right, and that's exactly what he'll do in the U.S. Senate," Norris said in a statement.
"That's why the Washington establishment is spending millions trying to defeat Judge Moore."
Alabama Republicans head to the polls next Tuesday.
