Accused child molester and twice-removed State Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is set to re-launch his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat, currently held by Democrat Doug Jones. Moore lost to Jones in a special election to fill the Alabama seat held for decades by now-fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Moore, a right wing religious extremist, was publicly asked to not run again by President Donald Trump, and mocked by Jones over the past month as rumors grew of his interest in trying to win the seat again.
The Associated Press, citing three sources familiar with Moore’s “thinking,” reports he is set to announce his entry into the race today. But they warn “the former judge has been unpredictable and could decide at the last minute not to run.”
It does not appear he has great support to run, based on this photo by a reporter for a local Alabama news outlet:
Moore is described as polarizing, and in theory could have a devastating effect on the 2020 election, were he to win the GOP nomination. He could depress Republican turnout, handing Jones another win. While doubtful, he might even depress turnout so much the state could flip and vote for the Democratic candidate for President – although Alabama has not voted for a Democrat since the 1976 election of Jimmy Carter.
In 2017 nine women, according to The New York Times, stepped forward to say Moore, when he was in his 30’s and an assistant district attorney, inappropriately pursued them romantically or sexually when they were still in their teens or early 20’s. One said she feared he was going to rape her. Another described intimate sexual contact that Moore initiated when she was just 14.
According to reports, Moore’s pursuit of young teens was known locally, and it was even rumored he had been banned from the local mall.
Whatever his chances of winning, Moore may choose to run for financial reasons. Last year he begged supporters for money, saying he had “struggled to make ends meet,” and needed help to fight “Gays, lesbians, and transgenders.”