Spotlight on the Alabama Senate Republican primary runoff, 2017

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U.S. Senate Election in Alabama

Coverage

Overview • Timeline September 26 Republican primary runoff August 15 Democratic primary August 15 Republican primary

Quick Facts

First primaries: August 15, 2017 Runoff Election: September 26, 2017 General Election: December 12, 2017 Election Winner: Doug Jones (D) Incumbent: Luther Strange (R)

Race Ratings

Cook Political Report: Toss Up Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss Up Rothenberg & Gonzales: Toss Up

2017-2018 Special Elections

This page was Ballotpedia's daily spotlight on the 2017 Republican primary runoff for the United States Senate special election in Alabama. We highlighted a new element of the candidates, issues, spending, and endorsements each day leading up to the runoff election. For more information on the runoff election, please click here.

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange in the Republican primary runoff election on September 26, 2017. Although he received an endorsement from President Donald Trump and the majority of the $13.9 million spent on the primary by outside organizations went to support his run—including backing from the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund super PAC—Strange was unable to pull ahead of Moore in any public opinion poll released following the August primary. He was the first incumbent senator to lose a primary since Indiana's Richard Lugar in 2012. Moore faced former U.S. attorney Doug Jones (D) and Arlester McBride (I) in the general election on December 12, 2017.

September 25

Voter info

When was the last day to register to vote in the primary runoff?

Tuesday, September 12

When was the last day to apply for an absentee ballot?

Thursday, September 21

Is this an open or closed primary?

Alabama utilizes an open primary system. However, state law prohibits voters from voting for a different political party in the runoff than the one they voted for in the primary.

Can you vote in the runoff if you didn't vote in the primary?

Yes. A voter can participate in the runoff election even if they did not vote in the primary.

Where are the polling locations?

Click here for Alabama polling locations.

September 22

Campaign advertisements

Listed below are the campaign ads that ran both for and against Roy Moore and Luther Strange in the election.

Roy Moore

Support

"Born to Fight" - Moore campaign ad, released June 3, 2017

"Conservative: Alabama Over Washington" - Moore campaign ad, released July 25, 2017

"Defeat the Deceivers" - Moore campaign ad, released August 8, 2017

Oppose

"Fund" - Senate Leadership Fund ad, released August 2, 2017

"Again" - Senate Leadership Fund ad, released August 2, 2017

"Swamp Critter" - Strange campaign ad, released September 6, 2017

Luther Strange

Support

"Shooting Range" - Strange campaign ad, released May 30, 2017

"Wall" - Strange campaign ad, released June 27, 2017

"Diner" - Strange/National Republican Senatorial Committee ad, released July 11, 2017

"Drain the Swamp" - Strange campaign ad, released July 31, 2017

"Mad" - Strange campaign ad, released September 11, 2017

"Stand with Luther Strange" - Strange campaign ad, released September 15, 2017

Oppose

"It's a Deal" - Swamp Drainers PAC ad, released July 17, 2017

"Big Time Lobbyist" - Great America Alliance ad, released September 12, 2017

September 21

Candidate policy breakdown: Border security

At a candidate forum on July 31, 2017, Moore said that he believed allowing the military and the states to stop illegal border crossings would make building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border unnecessary. He added that if that did not prove effective, he would support the construction of a wall.

Strange has advocated the construction of a border wall. In May 2017, he sponsored S 1126 - Securing the Border and Protecting Our Communities Act, a bill seeking to re-allocate federal infrastructure and transportation grants used by sanctuary cities to fund one's construction.

September 20

Endorsements review

Ballotpedia has tracked a total of 65 noteworthy endorsements for Roy Moore and Luther Strange in the race for the Alabama Senate as of September 19, 2017. Moore has been backed by a total of 50 elected officials, national figures, organizations, and PAC's, while Strange has gained the endorsement of 15 of these.

Of those who backed Mo Brooks, the third-place finisher in the August 15 Republican primary, five have switched their endorsements to re-align with Moore in the runoff election: Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Rep. Ed Henry (R-Ala.) Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and the Senate Conservatives Fund PAC.

Click here for a full breakdown of the endorsements made in the race.

September 19

Candidates' relationship with McConnell

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Moore and Strange both commented on the tension between President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over healthcare and other policy priorities in August 2017. At the time, Trump had indicated his displeasure with McConnell's performance, and when asked if he believed McConnell should resign, Trump told reporters, "If he doesn't get repeal and replace [of ObamaCare] done, and if he doesn't get taxes done, meaning cuts and reform, and if he doesn't get a very easy one to get done, infrastructure, if he doesn't get them done, then you can ask me that question."

Strange, who was endorsed by Trump and had the support of the McConnell-backed Senate Leadership Fund, said, "We all need to get back to work. I was part of the group of Republican senators who said we shouldn’t even take a vacation. I don’t know why we’re taking a vacation. We should be working to pass the president’s agenda and deal with the problems we failed to address last time." He added that Trump was "frustrated like I am, and this is no secret."

In an interview, Moore declined to directly comment on the dispute. He said, "I’m not going to say anything good about Mitch McConnell, who’s running the fund that’s attacking me with ads. Now, I won’t do that. But I won’t say anything bad out him ... I won’t judge that. That’s between them."

The Senate Leadership Fund had spent $7.5 million on the race to back Strange, as of September 18, 2017.

September 18

Candidates' relationship with Trump

President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump endorsed Strange on August 8, 2017. He tweeted, "Senator Luther Strange has done a great job representing the people of the Great State of Alabama. He has my complete and total endorsement!" Trump also recorded a robocall for Strange that was released the day before the election. "Unemployment is at a record low, jobs are flowing back into the country, we have a great Supreme Court Judge in Justice Gorsuch, we are doing things a lot of people said were impossible, but I need Luther to help us out," Trump said in the recording.

When asked on August 31, 2017, if Trump still supported Strange in the primary runoff election, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "Due to the legal restrictions that I have, I cannot answer anything political from the podium. So I’d have to leave that to outside folks and the President himself to answer that." Trump later tweeted on September 16, 2017, that he would campaign for Strange in Alabama on September 23.

Strange described himself as a strong supporter of Trump during a candidate forum on July 8, 2017. "President Trump is the greatest thing that's happened to this country. I consider it a Biblical miracle that he's there," he said. He was also involved with the group Conservative Lawyers for Trump before the election.

According to a study from FiveThirtyEight, Strange voted in line with Trump's position 91.7 percent of the time, as of September 6, 2017.

Moore also expressed support for the president, saying In April 2017 that Trump's victory was God's will. "God puts people in positions in positions he wants. ... I believe he sent Donald Trump in there to do what Donald Trump can do," he said. Moore said of Trump's agenda, "I support President Trump's agenda of making America great again. But I submit to you that we can only make America great again if we make America good."

September 15

Candidate policy breakdown: Trade

Roy Moore

Moore said that tariffs and trade restriction could be used to combat trade deficits and supported renegotiating NAFTA and CAFTA. He said in a statement, "In theory, I believe in free trade which has been the historic source of our nation's prosperity; however, because many of our trading partners are ruled by governments that strongly interfere with private enterprise, trade with such governments has been unbalanced."

Luther Strange

In June 2017, The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Strange wanted to modernize NAFTA, and that he said he supported "bilateral, one-on-one trade deals that ensure that American interests do not get left behind and trading partners are held accountable."

September 14

Candidate policy breakdown: Medicaid

Roy Moore

When asked if he would seek the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and cuts to Medicaid, Moore responded that he "would repeal Obamacare, pure and simple."

Luther Strange

Strange said, "My main concern is that we take care of the issues that face us here in Alabama. We have a very thin safety net for our most disadvantaged in our Medicaid program, and I want to make sure we're not further disadvantaged in our relationship to other states. ... Make sure that we're dealing with addressing the most vulnerable among us, particularly children, elderly, and folks that can't afford it. And that we're also doing things that protect taxpayers money so that people who maybe are not as deserving of some of this government largess are not taking money away from those who need it. Because we don't have very much of a margin of error in our state."

September 13

Candidate policy breakdown: Hurricane relief and the debt ceiling

On September 7, 2017, Strange voted in favor of a bundle of bills to raise the debt ceiling, funding the government until December 8, 2017, and to allocate more than $15 billion for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. "Today, I stood with President Trump and voted to deliver urgent relief to thousands of our Gulf Coast neighbors who are suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. It is high time for the federal government to balance its budget like the hardworking families of Alabama, and I remain committed to reaching a long-term solution on the debt ceiling. However, I agree with President Trump that the need to authorize critical relief funding is simply too urgent for the Senate to wait and address these issues separately," he said in a statement.

Moore criticized Strange for the vote. In a series of tweets, he wrote on September 8, 2017, "Yesterday, my opponent Luther Strange voted with Mitch McConnell to raise the debt ceiling, adding BILLIONS to our national deficit. Strange also voted against an amendment offered by @randpaul that would've used unspent foreign aid to pay for Hurricane Harvey relief ... The games being played in Washington are exactly why we haven't replaced Obamacare, balanced the budget, or rebuilt our military."

September 12

History of U.S. Senate elections in Alabama (1986-2016)

Highlights

• The last time an incumbent senator lost an election was in 1986 when Jeremiah Denton (R) lost to Richard Shelby (D).
• Prior to the 2017 Republican primary runoff, the last time an Alabama Senate primary went to a runoff was in 2002.
• The average margin of victory in Senate general elections from 1986 to 2016 was 22.65 percent, and the median margin of victory was 26.7 percent.
• The last Senate race in Alabama won by a Democratic candidate was in 1992 when Richard Shelby (D) defeated Richard Sellers (R). Shelby went on to change his party affiliation to the Republican Party in 1994.

Results details

In the tables below you may view election results from every United States Senate election in Alabama dating back to 1986.

2016

See also: United States Senate election in Alabama, 2016

General election

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	64%	1,335,104
	Democratic	Ron Crumpton	35.9%	748,709
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	3,631
Total Votes				2,087,444
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ron Crumpton	56.1%	153,897
Charles Nana	43.9%	120,526
Total Votes		274,423
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Richard Shelby Incumbent	64.9%	505,586
Jonathan McConnell	27.6%	214,770
John Martin	3%	23,558
Marcus Bowman	2.5%	19,707
Shadrack McGill	2%	15,230
Total Votes		778,851
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

2014

See also: United States Senate elections in Alabama, 2014

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	97.3%	795,606
	N/A	Write-in	2.7%	22,484
Total Votes				818,090
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

2010

General election

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	65.2%	968,181
	Democratic	William G. Barnes	34.7%	515,619
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,699
Total Votes				1,485,499
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William G. Barnes	60.8%	160,993
	Democratic	Simone D. De Moore	39.2%	103,942
Total Votes				264,935
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	84.4%	405,398
	Republican	N.C. Moser	15.6%	75,190
Total Votes				480,588
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

2008

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	63.4%	1,305,383
	Democratic	Vivian Figures	36.5%	752,391
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	2,417
Total Votes				2,060,191
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Vivian Figures	63.7%	112,074
	Democratic	Johnny Swanson III	22%	38,757
	Democratic	Mark Townsend	14.2%	25,058
Total Votes				175,889
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	92.3%	199,690
	Republican	Earl Mack Gavin	7.7%	16,718
Total Votes				216,408
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

2004

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	67.5%	1,242,200
	Democratic	Wayne Sowell	32.4%	595,018
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,848
Total Votes				1,839,066
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic and Republican primaries

Both Richard Shelby and Wayne Sowell were unopposed on their respective party's primary ballots.

2002

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	58.6%	792,561
	Democratic	Susan Parker	39.8%	538,878
	Libertarian	Jeff Allen	1.5%	20,234
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,350
Total Votes				1,353,023
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic runoff

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Runoff Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Susan Parker	65.1%	176,582
	Democratic	Julian McPhillips	34.9%	94,614
Total Votes				271,196
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Susan Parker	48%	190,978
	Democratic	Julian McPhillips	42.8%	170,222
	Democratic	Wayne Sowell	9.2%	36,719
Total Votes				397,919
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

Republican primary

Jeff Sessions was the only Republican to file for this race.

1998

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	63.2%	817,973
	Democratic	Clayton Suddith	36.7%	474,568
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	864
Total Votes				1,293,405

Primaries

No Democratic or Republican primary was necessary because Shelby and Suddith were the only two candidates who filed to run in the race.

1996

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	52.8%	786,436
	Democratic	Roger Beford	45.7%	681,651
	Libertarian	Mark Thornton	1.4%	21,550
	N/A	Write-in	0%	633
Total Votes				1,490,270

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Roger Bedford	44.8%	141,360
	Democratic	Glenn Browder	28.9%	91,203
	Democratic	Natalie Davis	22.7%	71,588
	Democratic	Marilyn Quarles Bromberg	3.7%	11,573
Total Votes				315,724

Republican runoff

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Runoff Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	59.3%	81,622
	Republican	Sid McDonald	40.7%	56,131
Total Votes				137,753

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	37.5%	80,694
	Republican	Sid McDonald	22%	47,200
	Republican	Charles Woods	11.1%	23,793
	Republican	Frank McRight	10.2%	21,818
	Republican	Walter D. Clark	8.6%	18,513
	Republican	Jimmy Blake	7.1%	15,305
	Republican	Albert Lipscomb	3.5%	7,600
Total Votes				214,923

1992

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1992
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard Shelby	64.8%	1,022,698
	Republican	Richard Sellers	33.1%	522,015
	Libertarian	Jerome Shockley	2%	31,811
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,275
Total Votes				1,577,799

Democratic and Republican primaries

No primaries for either party were held due to lack of opposition.

1990

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1990
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Howell Heflin	60.6%	717,814
	Republican	William J. Cabaniss	39.4%	467,190
	N/A	Write-in	0%	150
Total Votes				1,185,154

Democratic and Republican primaries

No primaries for either party were held due to lack of opposition.

1986

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard Shelby	50.3%	609,360
	Republican	Jeremiah Denton (Incumbent)	49.7%	602,537
Total Votes				1,211,897

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard Shelby	51.3%	420,155
	Democratic	Jim Allen, Jr.	34.7%	284,206
	Democratic	Ted McLaughlin	8.6%	70,784
	Democratic	Margaret E. Stewart	3.3%	26,723
	Democratic	Steve Arnold	2%	16,722
Total Votes				818,590

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeremiah Denton (Incumbent)	88.5%	29,805
	Republican	Richard Vickers	11.5%	3,854
Total Votes				33,659

September 11

Candidate policy breakdown: Filibuster

Roy Moore

In an interview in July, Moore called the filibuster unconstitutional. He said, "Filibuster is where people would talk out a bill if they didn't agree with it, and they would talk how long they could talk and with other people joining in. But to overcome that they have a 60-vote rule. In my opinion, that is unconstitutional. It is a supermajority not delegated by the Founding Fathers. We have plenty of supermajorities in the Constitution ... but they didn't have a 60-vote rule. That's a majority rule on a vote on legislation. So, they're killing bills left and right. That's why not so many bills are sitting on the president's desk." Moore added that use of the filibuster was politically strategic: "In my opinion, Republicans, like the Democrats, high-fived a rule because they don't want people to know where they stand on these issues."

Luther Strange

Strange co-signed a letter with 60 other senators advocating the filibuster in April 2017. "Senators have expressed a variety of opinions about the appropriateness of limiting debate when we are considering judicial and executive branch nominations. Regardless of our past disagreements on that issue, we are united in our determination to preserve the ability of members to engage in extended debate when bills are on the Senate floor," the letter read.

On September 5, 2017, he asked for his name to be withdrawn from the letter. He wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), "Until [the majority can end debate], the ability to build a wall on our southern border, defund Planned Parenthood, give the American people tax relief and any number of other important issues will continue to be difficult, if not impossible."

September 8

Candidate policy breakdown: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA)

Roy Moore

When asked in a July 2017 radio interview whether he supported Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)—the Obama administration policy which allows some individuals who entered the country without legal permission as minors to receive a two-year deferral from deportation and eligibility for a work permit—Moore expressed unfamiliarity with the subject. After the radio host explained DACA, Moore said of the program continuing under the Trump administration, "Well if Trump's done it, well then, that's what Trump does. I don't necessarily agree with it." A spokesperson for Moore said on September 1, 2017, "Judge Moore doesn't speak the language of Washington, he speaks the language of the Constitution. Judge Moore opposes amnesty under any name."

Luther Strange

Strange was attorney general of Alabama when it joined 25 other states in opposing the Obama administration's executive orders on DACA and DAPA in 2015. Strange also issued this statement on DACA in September 2017: “While career politician Roy Moore doesn't even know what DACA is, Luther stands with President Trump, and has fought against Obama's illegal amnesty plan — and won.”

September 7

Satellite spending

As of September 6, 2017, 14 organizations had collectively spent nearly $7 million on the race. Approximately 87 percent of that spending came from the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF)—the Mitch McConnell-aligned super PAC founded to support a Republican majority in the United States Senate—to back incumbent Sen. Luther Strange. By comparison, four organizations spent less than $530,000 on the Senate race in the state in 2016.

Since the primary, SLF has spent approximately $1.8 million on online, television, and radio advertising opposing former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. Chris Pack of the SLF spoke with Ballotpedia about the super PAC's goals in the final four weeks before the runoff election:

“	I don't think Roy Moore has ever endured a statewide paid campaign against him, so if you peel back the layers on the onion, there's a lot of information about Moore that the voters of Alabama may not be aware of. The voters need to know that Moore's charity paid him and his wife a $1 mil salary and access to a private jet. When he was waging his fight against the 10 Commandments removal, he said that tax payers wouldn't get billed for the fight, but they did. When Moore laid off 170 court workers, he blamed a funding shortfall, but then gave himself a raise. There's more to him than voters currently realize.	”
—Chris Pack

Commenting on SLF's opposition ads, Moore tweeted on August 31, 2017, "Mitch McConnell is spending millions in hopes of securing his new favorite establishment lackey a win in #ALSen."

The only other organization to report spending in this time period was the Courageous Conservatives PAC, which spent $300 on social media advertising to support Moore.

September 6

The details on Roy Moore

Roy Moore

Roy Stewart Moore is a former justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. His term was originally set to expire in 2019, but he resigned on April 26, 2017, in order to run in the special election for U.S. Senate. Prior to his resignation, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended him for the remainder of his term on September 30, 2016. The suspension was based on ethics charges brought by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission. The charges against him related to a January 6 administrative order he issued to Alabama probate judges affirming their duty to follow the law as decided by the Alabama Supreme Court rather than by the United States Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges. His order stated that the previous orders of the Alabama Supreme Court that the state's probate judges should not issue same-sex marriage licenses "remain in full force and effect." Moore stood trial before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary on September 28, 2016, on the charges that provoked his May 2016 suspension. The court of the judiciary suspended Moore for the remainder of his term rather than remove him from the bench entirely a second time. Moore served as chief justice from 2013 until his suspension was upheld in April 2017. Moore appealed the suspension to the Alabama Supreme Court, but the court upheld the suspension on April 19, 2017.

Moore served as president of the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery from 2003 to 2012. According to his campaign website, his service for this foundation included "lecturing throughout the Country and filing amicus curiae briefs regarding the United States Constitution in Federal District Courts, State Supreme Courts, U.S. Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court."

Moore also served as chief justice from 2001 to 2003, when he was suspended from the bench and subsequently removed from the court by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary for refusing to remove a monument he had installed of the Ten Commandments from the state courthouse—despite contrary orders from a federal judge.

Prior to serving as chief justice, Moore served as a judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit of Alabama from 1992 to 2000. Leading up to his service as a judge, Moore was a private practice attorney. Before that, he was the first full-time Deputy District Attorney in Etowah County, Alabama, and served in that position from 1977 to 1982.

Moore received his J.D. from The University of Alabama School of Law, and his B.S. in arts and engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Between earning his bachelor's and J.D., Moore served in the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Illesheim, Germany, before being deployed to Vietnam. He was company commander of his military police unit. Moore was born in Gadsden, Alabama.

September 5

The details on incumbent Sen. Luther Strange

Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.)

Luther J. Strange, III is a Republican member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Alabama. He was first appointed to the position by Gov. Robert Bentley on February 9, 2017. He replaced Jeff Sessions, who was confirmed as United States Attorney General.

Strange is the former Republican Attorney General of Alabama. He was initially elected to the statewide position in 2010 after first upsetting the previous officer, Republican Troy King, winning the state's primary contest by a 20.2 percent margin of victory on June 1, 2010. He went on to win the general election by a margin of victory of 17.7 percent on November 2, 2010, and assumed office on January 17, 2011. Strange's first four-year term ended on January 19, 2015, and he won re-election to a second term on November 4, 2014, by a margin of victory of 17 percent.

Strange's formal entry into state politics was in 2006, when he ran for Lieutenant Governor. Though he easily secured the Republican nomination, he lost narrowly in the general election to former governor Jim Folsom, Jr. Before ever stepping up to the podium as a candidate, Strange had already established himself as an active member of the Republican Party of Alabama behind the scenes. He founded the Red Mountain Republican Club in 1997 and served as the Chair of the Committee to Elect Bill Pryor in 1998 and 2002.

Prior to becoming attorney general, Strange founded his own law firm, Strange, LLC, which focused on economic development work. Strange, LCC was ranked among the "Best Law Firms" by U.S. News in 2010, owing in large part to Strange's efforts advising companies on growth and expansion opportunities within the state of Alabama. Strange opened his firm ten years after joining with lawyer Jack Selden to open up their own private practice law firm, which eventually merged with Bradley, Arant, Rose, & White in 1998.

Strange earned his J.D. from Tulane University, which he also attended for his undergrad degree in political science. Strange was born and raised in Birmingham, where he participated in Eagle Scouts and sports.

See also

• United States Senate special election in Alabama, 2017
• United States Senate special election in Alabama (September 26, 2017 Republican primary runoff)
• Special elections to the 115th United States Congress (2017-2018)
• Timeline of United States Senate special election in Alabama, 2017
• United States Senate
• Jeff Sessions

Footnotes

[show]

Alabama's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Katie Britt (R)

Tommy Tuberville (R)

Representatives

District 1

Barry Moore (R)

District 2

Shomari Figures (D)

District 3

Mike Rogers (R)

District 4

Robert Aderholt (R)

District 5

Dale Strong (R)

District 6

Gary Palmer (R)

District 7

Terri Sewell (D)

Republican Party (7)

Democratic Party (2)