Roy Moore said he would not have voted for the Republican health care plan

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore said Wednesday that he would not have voted for the Republican health care plan if he were in the Senate.

“I think I would have stood with Rand Paul,” Mr. Moore, a Republican Senate candidate, said on Fox News. “I think it’s socialized medicine at best.”

Mr. Moore won Alabama’s Senate primary in an upset over Sen. Luther Strange who was appointed to the seat earlier this year. Jeff Sessions previously held the seat, but left when he was appointed as attorney general.

Mr. Moore has said he will vote with the Republican establishment as long as they uphold conservative principles. His win was a blow to Republicans who lost a reliable vote in Mr. Strange. 

President Trump endorsed Mr. Strange in the primary, even coming out to campaign for him at a rally in Alabama on Friday. Mr. Moore said this will not change his relationship with the president, who he said he agrees with on many issues.

“I don’t think the president knew me, and I think when he gets to know me that he’ll understand that I do support a very conservative agenda for this country. I think that he will back me. I received a call from him and that’s what he said he’d do,” Mr. Moore said.

The general election race takes place on Dec. 12 against Democratic candidate Doug Jones. Alabama hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992, giving Mr. Moore the edge heading into the final stretch of the race.