What Roy Moore's Alabama U.S. Senate Primary Win Means For The GOP

Published September 27, 2017 at 10:00 AM EDT

Former Alabama Chief Justice and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore speaks at a rally, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Fairhope, Ala. (Brynn Anderson/AP)

Alabama鈥檚 U.S. Senate primary. Moore vs Strange. Bannon vs Trump. We鈥檒l unpack the results from Alabama鈥檚 special election.

So, it鈥檚 Roy Moore as Republican for Senate in Alabama. Not Luther Strange, Donald Trump鈥檚 endorsed favorite, Mitch McConnell鈥檚 man. But Roy Moore 鈥� conservative firebrand. Steve Bannon鈥檚 guy. Trumpier than Trump. A pistol-waving, Ten-Commandments-before-Constitution favorite of Sarah Palin and Duck dynasty鈥檚 Phil Robertson. Now it鈥檚 game-on for more sober Republicans. Bannon says he wants a revolution. This hour, On Point: Roy Moore over Luther Strange, and what now for the GOP? 鈥揟om Ashbrook.

Guests

, columnist for the Alabama Media Group. ()

, chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner. ()

, Global Editorial Director for HuffPost. ()

, covers local and national politics for the Alabama Media Group. ()

From Tom鈥檚 Reading List

鈥� 鈥淩oy Moore, a former State Supreme Court chief justice, defeated Senator Luther Strange on Tuesday in the Republican runoff to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, now the attorney general. Mr. Moore will face the Democratic nominee, Doug Jones, a former United States attorney, in the general election on Dec. 12.鈥�

鈥� 鈥淏ecause Roy Moore鈥檚 pummeling of Trump darling Luther Strange in Alabama鈥檚 special Senate race was not a referendum on the president鈥檚 clout or a defining moment in a looming civil war within the Republican Party. It wasn鈥檛. It was just Alabama. Being Alabama. It was Alabama picking Roy Moore for the same reason eight out of 10 Alabama Republicans still approve of the job Donald Trump is doing. It鈥檚 not that they don鈥檛 care if he鈥檚 a little bit crazy, that he鈥檚 far from PC, that he鈥檚 laughed at in the urban centers and demonized in the national press. They care. Because that鈥檚 exactly what they like about Moore.鈥�

鈥� 鈥淢oore鈥檚 win, however, also demonstrates the real political limitations of Trump, who endorsed 鈥淏ig Luther鈥� at McConnell鈥檚 urging and staged a rally for Strange in Huntsville, Ala., just days before the primary. The outcome is likely to further fray Trump鈥檚 ties to Republicans in Congress, many of whom now fear that even his endorsement cannot protect them from voter fury.鈥�

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