Senate candidate Judge Roy Moore of Alabama wouldn’t vote for the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill, his campaign announced Thursday, signaling trouble for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s agenda if Moore wins.
Moore — who is currently leading over Sen. Luther Strange, the leadership-backed candidate in the Senate runoff polls — is looking for a more conservative option to repeal and replace Obamacare.
“If Graham-Cassidy is anything less than a full repeal, Judge Moore will not vote for it,” a Moore spokesman told MSNBC.
Senate GOP leadership is currently attempting to gain the support needed to pass the bill, which aims to replace Medicaid expansion and insurance subsidies with block grants provided to the states.
With a Sept. 30 deadline to act on the legislation, top Republicans remain short on the votes needed to pass the measure.
Conservative Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is currently the only hard “no” on the bill, arguing that he can’t support it because it keeps the majority of Obamacare taxes in place. GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine all remain on the fence, telling reporters that they are waiting for the bill to be scored to see how it will directly impact their states.
Moore’s criticisms of the bill indicate that the former Alabama Supreme Court justice is open to bucking leadership on their top legislative goals.
The primary runoff election is slated to take place Tuesday.
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