Washington Republicans Want No Part Of Roy Moore Running For Senate Again

Roy Moore, the controversial former judge who ran for the U.S. Senate in a special election in 2017, but had his bid derailed when he was accused of misconduct by multiple women, is running again.

Per CNBC, Moore announced Thursday that he’s entering the Republican primary for Senate in 2020.

“Yes, I will run for the United States Senate in 2020,” Moore told the Alabama media on Thursday. Should he get through a Republican primary, Moore would be set up for a rematch with Doug Jones, who defeated him in the special election in a rare victory for a Democrat in an Alabama Senate race. Moore, who never conceded that he lost the election to Jones, went on to refer to the special election as “fraudulent.”

During that election, multiple women claimed that Moore had behaved inappropriately with them when they were teenagers, although Moore denied the charges. The seat became vacant when its longtime officeholder, Jeff Sessions, was named attorney general by President Trump.

While President Trump was supportive of Moore’s candidacy when he was facing Jones, the president, in May, declared that he did not want Moore to run again for the seat, per The Inquisitr.

The Republican establishment in Washington, upon his announcement of a run, appeared unanimous about their opposition to Moore’s bid for the Senate seat.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he will oppose Moore’s candidacy.

“He can do what he wants to, but we’re certainly going to oppose him in every way,” McConnell said, per The Associated Press. The bid is also opposed by Alabama’s other Republican U.S. Senator, Richard Shelby, and by the Senate Leadership Fund.

“We believe most Alabama Republicans realize that nominating Roy Moore would be gift wrapping this Senate seat for Chuck Schumer,” the Leadership Fund, a group aligned with McConnell, said in a statement, referring to the Democratic leader in the Senate.

“Give me a break. This place has enough creepy old men,” Sen. Martha McSally, a Republican from Arizona, told Politico about the prospect of Moore running again.

Candidates for the seat on the Republican side include Rep. Bradley Byrne, as well as retired football coach Tommy Tuberville. Rep. Matt Gaetz was mentioned as a possible candidate, even though he currently represents Florida, but Gaetz is apparently not making such a run.

There was even an attempt, per the Politico story, to recruit Jeff Sessions to make a comeback for his old Senate seat.