Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL) defeated former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson in the Alabama Senate GOP primary runoff, effectively guaranteeing Moore will be the state’s next senator. Moore prevailed 58.7%-41.3%, with 77% of the vote tabulated when the Associated Press called the race on Tuesday. The southern Alabama congressman entered the race as the favorite, but his victory was not without drama. Polling showed results all over the map, with one survey finding Hudson up by 16 points and another with Moore winning by 17 points.
President Donald Trump endorsed Moore in January, months before the May primary, but the support was not enough to help Moore clear the field entirely. He advanced to the runoff as the lead vote-getter, but Attorney General Steve Marshall siphoned nearly a quarter of the vote, denying Moore the outright win.
In a sign of the potential competitiveness of the race, Trump proceeded to boost Moore’s endorsement on social media five additional times, including a video endorsement of the congressman the day before the May primary. Moore was the first elected official in the country to publicly back Trump, which occurred at an August 2015 rally in Mobile.
Trump also hosted a tele-rally late last week for the congressman.
