President Trump congratulated former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore on his victory in the Republican primary race for the state’s Senate seat, despite coming out hard for his opponent during the campaign.
“Spoke to Roy Moore of Alabama last night for the first time. Sounds like a really great guy who ran a fantastic race. He will help to #MAGA!” Mr. Trump tweeted on Wednesday.
This followed up a tweet from late Tuesday congratulating Mr. Moore on his success.
“Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!,” Mr. Trump tweeted.
Mr. Moore, a conservative firebrand candidate, won the race handily with a 10-point lead over Mr. Strange. Mr. Moore will face Democratic opponent and former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones in the general election on Dec. 12. Alabama hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992 giving Mr. Moore the immediate advantage.
Throughout the Republican primary, Mr. Trump pushed voters to support Sen. Luther Strange, saying he would back the administration’s agenda. Earlier this year, former Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Mr. Strange to fill the Senate seat left open when Jeff Sessions was confirmed as attorney general. The president even went to campaign for Mr. Strange in Alabama on Friday, urging voters to support the incumbent.
SEE ALSO: Roy Moore wins in Alabama Republican Senate primary runoff
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon and his conservative website Breitbart actively supported Mr. Moore, however, in the first evidence of a split between Mr. Bannon and Mr. Trump in a political race this year.
But Mr. Moore said Tuesday that just because Mr. Trump didn’t support him in the primary doesn’t mean he has any issues with the president. He told the crowd in his victory speech that he remains committed to Mr. Trump’s agenda.
Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2017
Spoke to Roy Moore of Alabama last night for the first time. Sounds like a really great guy who ran a fantastic race. He will help to #MAGA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2017
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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