Rep. Barry Moore launched his campaign for Senate in Alabama on Tuesday, joining the Republican primary for an open seat being vacated by gubernatorial hopeful Tommy Tuberville.
Moore, a member of the House Freedom Caucus in his third term, has cast himself as a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, touting that as an Alabama state representative he was the first elected official in the country to endorse Trump during his 2016 campaign.
“I’m running for Senate because the people of Alabama deserve a Trump conservative and a working man who will defend their freedoms,” Moore said in a statement. “We have a lot to do in Washington to help President Trump get our country back on track, and my record shows I’ll never clock out when there is work to be done.”
Moore, who founded a waste management company with his wife before entering politics, emphasized his conservative credentials as he seeks statewide office in a state that voted for Trump by 30 points last year. He said he was proud of his record in the House, including work on immigration policies and cutting taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security. He also touched on social issues, saying he’s sought to “stop the radical left from indoctrinating our kids,” while defending “life, liberty and Christian values and your Constitutional rights.”
“I’m not a RINO, and I’m sure not one of those MAGA pretenders suddenly coming to be conservative,” he said in a campaign launch video.
He joins a Republican field that includes state Attorney General Steve Marshall and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson. Democrats running include businessmen Kyle Sweetser and Dakarai Larriett and chemist Mark Wheeler.
Moore had $253,000 in his House campaign account at the end of June, which he’ll be able to transfer to a Senate campaign account. Marshall had $383,000 in his Senate campaign account at the end of June, while Hudson had $201,000.
Moore is no stranger to competitive primaries. Last year, he won a contentious race against fellow Republican Rep. Jerry Carl. The two were drawn into the same district when a federal court ruled that Alabama needed to use a new congressional map that gave Black voters a second district where they could influence the election of a representative. Moore ultimately won the Republican primary by 4 percentage points and easily won the general election.
Carl has teased that he’ll run again to succeed Moore in the 1st District seat. He filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission last week and on social media has promised a “major announcement” on Aug. 18.
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