In the special election for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat, Judge Roy Moore is the clear front-runner. Moore holds a commanding 10-point lead over incumbent Senator Luther Strange, according to a poll conducted by potential primary challenger Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala. Roy Moore leads the race with 30 percent, followed by Strange at 20 percent, and Rep. Brooks in “the low double-digits.”
Strange was appointed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former Senate seat by disgraced former Gov. Robert Bentley before he resigned last month. Many see the appointment as a corrupt deal struck between a governor, Bentley, mired in scandal and the state attorney general, Strange, prosecuting him.
Gov. Kay Ivey, Bentley’s successor, called for an early special primary election on Aug. 18 followed by a runoff on September 26 and a general election on December 12.
Moore’s candidacy in Alabama is strong. Many Alabamians see Moore – the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court – as a martyr for the social conservative cause after he was removed from office for directing state probate judges not to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples.
"I have done my duty under the laws of this state to stand for the undeniable truth that God ordained marriage as the union of one man and one woman," Moore said during the press conference in front of the state capitol after the Alabama Supreme Court upheld the decision to remove Moore from the court.
The Washington establishment is backing Senator Strange for reelection. McConnell allies in the National Republican Senatorial Committee are threatening potential primary challengers to Strange to dissuade them from running.
"We have made it very clear from the beginning that Sen. Luther Strange would be treated as an incumbent," NRSC spokeswoman Katie Martin reportedly told Politico. "It has also been a clear policy that we will not use vendors who work against our incumbents."
Despite the NRSC’s threats, the polling shows that there is a race in Alabama, and the conservative challenger has a clear shot at winning.
