Moore and Strange Battle for Trump Vote in Alabama
The Republican primary runoff for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama is heating up with just 4 days until voting day. Both Roy Moore and Sen. Luther Strange are hoping to capture the Trump vote in the state.
President Donald Trump is supporting incumbent Senator Strange and will attend a rally for him Friday evening. Strange is being pushed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the establishment causing many Trump voters to consider whether they should follow the president’s lead or register a protest vote against McConnell and vote for Moore instead.
Former Judge Roy Moore declined to say anything bad about McConnell in a recent interview, but he didn’t have anything positive to say either.
“I’m not going to say anything good about Mitch McConnell, who’s running the fund that’s attacking me with ads,” he said.
Moore has strong support from anti-establishment Conservatives. Governor Sarah Palin and former White House adviser Sebastian Gorka have said that a vote for Moore is “a vote for the agenda that elected the president.”
Thursday night’s debate was no help to voters as the issues were rarely discussed. A battle of talking points was interrupted frequently as Moore and Strange quibbled over who Trump should want in the Senate. Strange repeatedly (and I mean REALLY repeatedly) reminded everyone that Trump likes him, Trump wants him, Trump picked him, etc…
Moore would represent a Washington outsider while Strange is obviously McConnell’s boy. Sen. Strange would likely owe his re-election to the over $12 million McConnell has directed to Alabama – just for the primary. Moore would owe neither McConnell nor the president anything if he wins.
Recent Polls for Moore versus Strange in Alabama Run-Off
Sen. Strange hasn’t won a single major poll in the last two months illustrating Alabama voters strong desire for an outsider candidate the mirrors the president they elected by a 27-point margin last November. In the most recent poll held on September 16-17, Moore held an 8-point advantage over the incumbent Senator, but he has led Strange by as much as 18 points in polls held over the last few weeks. The Real Clear Politics average of polls since July 31 comes in at almost +9 points for Moore.
Roy Moore and Luther Strange – Political Positions
Since the debate was worthless for determining real differences between the candidates, determining differences in policy positions requires thorough research. Here’s what CDN found:
Both candidates have issued statements in strong support of gun ownership, against same-sex marriage, against the removal of Confederate statues, both are pro-life and both are for the renegotiation of NAFTA.
It is difficult to find differences between the candidates. Both are running as social and fiscal Conservatives but here’s what we could locate.
Raising The Debt Ceiling
- Roy Moore (against): Moore publicly criticised Strange for having voted in favor of raising the debt ceiling in an August vote to send Federal Aid to the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
- Luther Strange (for): Sen. Strange voted to raise the debt ceiling in August.
Senate Filibuster Rule
- Roy Moore (against): “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”
- Luther Strange (flip-flop): In April 2017 Sen. Strange signed a letter with other Senate Republicans supporting the 60-vote filibuster threshold to end debate. As the election grew closer and Trump voiced his support for moving the threshold to 50 votes, Strange pulled his name from the letter stating, “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.” (9/5/17)
DACA
- Roy Moore (against): Moore was unfamiliar with DACA in a recent interview, but once the host explained it to him, he answered, “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 (against): “Luther stands with President Trump, and has fought against Obama’s illegal amnesty plan — and won,” Strange said in a statement.
What are the differences between Roy Moore and Luther Strange?
In a nutshell, polish.
Roy Moore is every bit the common man’s hero wielding a sword of righteous indignation sharpened with a touch of moral outrage. He is not as versed on the issues as he should be and speaks ineloquently at times. He was removed from the Alabama Supreme Court twice for refusing to remove the 10 commandments from the building. He is very religious, and a social and fiscal Conservative.
Luther Strange is the consummate politician – 50-word, highly polished responses when 10 would have done and flip-flops on positions when politically expedient. His fiscal Conservatism stops where the debt limit is concerned but hey, Trump likes him … or something.