Alabama Republican Roy Moore, whose 2017 U.S. Senate bid was derailed by allegations of decades-old sexual misconduct involving teenage girls, said on Thursday he would run again for the seat next year, defying his party's leadership.
The prospect of a rematch between Moore – a conservative former judge who cultivated controversy even before the salacious allegations against him – and U.S. Senator Doug Jones – widely considered the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in 2020 – had gotten pushback from Republican Party leaders, including President Donald Trump.
"If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost," Trump wrote on Twitter last month. "Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating!"
Moore embraced his status as an outsider on Thursday, criticizing "Washington Republicans" for trying to influence the Alabama race and listing numerous members of his party who have already declared their opposition to his candidacy.
"Why does the mere mention of my name cause people to get up in arms in Washington, D.C.?" he said at a news conference in Montgomery, Alabama. "Is it because I'm a staunch conservative?"
Democrats need a net gain of three seats in 2020 to win a majority in the 100-seat Senate. Trump won Alabama in 2016 by nearly 30 percentage points.
Jones became the first Democratic senator from Alabama in decades when he narrowly won a special election after Moore, 72, was accused of pursuing sexual relationships with teenagers when he was in his 30s, including one girl as young as 14. He has denied all the allegations.
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