Today's Alabama GOP Senate primary pits Trump against his biggest allies
Republican voters in Alabama will decide Tuesday whether to nominate Sen. Luther Strange, the incumbent appointed by the state's unpopular former governor and supported by President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), or Roy Moore, the controversial former judge who has consistently led in the polls and is backed by Trump's most prominent supporters. Trump held a rally for Strange in Huntsville last Friday, and Vice President Mike Pence was in Birmingham to boost him on Monday night, while Stephen Bannon headlined a Monday night barn rally for Moore, joined by Brexit leader Nigel Farage and Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson.
McConnell's allied super PAC has spent millions on ads against Moore, a conservative most famous for defying court orders to remove 10 Commandments monuments and accept a Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage — both of which got him removed from the Alabama Supreme Court. Trump has tweeted his support for Strange and phoned in to local radio shows to talk him up as a loyal backer in the Senate.
Bannon has made it his top priority to unseat Strange and boost Moore, hoping to launch an insurgency against the Republican establishment. He was unsparing in his comments Monday night. He called Tuesday a "day of reckoning" for McConnell, his allies, and "the donors" and "corporatists that put up the money" for campaigns. "Mitch McConnell and his permanent political class is the most corrupt, incompetent group of individuals in this country!" he said, insisting, "We did not come here to defy Donald Trump, we came here to praise and honor him."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The winner of Tuesday's primary will face Democrat Doug Jones in deep-red Alabama's December special election.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaine
In the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
By The Week UK Published
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the rise and fall of Matt Gaetz
Cartoons Artists take on age brackets, backbiting, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The future of X
Talking Point Trump's ascendancy is reviving the platform's coffers, whether or not a merger is on the cards
By The Week UK Published
-
Global court issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu
Speed Read The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stand accused of war crimes
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz bows out, Trump pivots to Pam Bondi
Speed Read Gaetz withdrew from attorney generation consideration, making way for longtime Trump loyalist Pam Bondi
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban
Speed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published