Former Alabama state supreme court Justice Roy Moore is still considering another senate run next year, even as Republican leaders such as President Donald Trump urge him to sit this race out.
Moore rebuked the president during an interview with Politico published Wednesday night and said that he would make his decision within a “few weeks.”(RELATED: ‘If You Actually Care About MAGA:’ Don Jr. Sends Roy Moore A Clear Message)
“The president doesn’t control who votes for the United States Senate in Alabama,” Moore told the outlet in a phone interview. “People in Alabama are smarter than that. They elect the senator from Alabama, not from Washington, D.C.”
Moore was the Republican nominee for senate in 2017, but lost to Democrat Doug Jones in a state that Trump carried by 28 points a year earlier, after several women accused Moore of sexual misconduct against them when they were minors. Moore has repeatedly denied the allegations.
“It was fake news then, [and] it’s fake news now,” he told Politico.
Democrat Doug Jones, who won the special U.S. Senate election against Republican candidate Roy Moore, speaks during a news conference in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S., December 13, 2017. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry
The president urged Moore not to take another run at the seat in a tweet Wednesday. (RELATED: Roy Moore Is ‘Seriously Considering’ Another Run For The Senate In Alabama)
“Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama,” Trump said. “This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t…..”
Moore never conceded his defeat to Jones in 2017 and maintains that he would emerge victorious this time around.
“They know I’ll win,” Moore said of Republicans that don’t want him to run. “That’s why they’re upset.”