Jim Zeigler: Don’t give Nancy Pelosi an extra vote and extra funds
“Alabama would lose an electoral vote in presidential elections. That vote would not disappear. It would go left.”
Roy Moore to announce US Senate plans Thursday
Conservative lightning rod Roy Moore of Alabama will announce this week if he is running for U.S. Senate in 2020. Moore’s wife, Kayla Moore, confirmed that he will make an announcement on the Senate race Thursday. Moore, who lost in 2017 to Democrat Doug Jones, told The Associated Press last month that he was seriously considering another run. Moore was defeated amid allegations of long ago sexual misconduct with teenagers. Moore denied the allegations. President Donald Trump last month appeared to discourage Moore from entering the race. Trump tweeted that Moore “cannot win” and said Republicans need to retake the seat in the once reliably red state. Trump added that if Democrats retain the seat in 2020, “many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost.” Moore brushed aside that assertion that he can’t win. He told The Associated Press last month that he believed that establishment Republicans are trying to keep him out of the race and put pressure on Trump. “Everybody knows I can win and that’s what’s worrying in Washington.” Moore said last month. Jones narrowly defeated Moore in 2017 by 22,000 votes out of 1.3 million cast in a special election to fill the seat previously held by Jeff Sessions, who became Trump’s attorney general. Republicans control the Senate 53-47 and view defeating Jones as a top priority. Jones, 65, is considered the most endangered Democratic incumbent facing re-election in 2020, a year when several GOP senators are vulnerable and control of the chamber will be at stake. During the 2017 race, six women accused Moore of pursuing romantic or sexual relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was an assistant district attorney in his 30s. Two, including a woman who was 14 at the time, accused him of assault or molestation, accusations that he has vehemently denied. As he weighs another Senate bid, Moore contends the 2017 election was a “fraud.” Moore has a strong following among Alabama’s evangelical voters, support that propelled him to twice being elected as the state’s chief justice. Before the 2017 race, the West Point graduate was best known for hardline stances as Alabama chief justice against allowing gay couples to marry and in favor of public display of the Ten Commandments. A judicial ethics panel twice removed him from the bench, ruling he had defied, or urged defiance, of federal court orders. Moore would be part of a crowded GOP primary field if he enters the race.Republican candidates already include Congressman Bradley Byrne, former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville and state Rep. Arnold Mooney. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said he will announce a decision next week. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
30+ women defend Roy Moore’s character during rally outside Alabama capitol
On the steps of the Alabama State Capitol, more than 30 women stood united in their support of Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore Friday morning. The ladies at a “Women for Moore” rally ranged from former colleagues and fellow church members, to well known figures such as Roy’s wife Kayla, Ann Eubank, the statewide co-chair of Rainy Day Patriots, and the legislative chair of the Alabama Legislative Watchdogs, and Wetumpka Tea Party founder Becky Gerritson. There, the women took turns speaking to Moore’s character and defending the former Alabama Chief Justice they claim “has faithfully served in public office for forty years.” “This is a he said-she said situation, some of which are 40 years old, that can never be proven or disproven in the amount of time we have before December 12,” Eubank said at the event. “He has been tried and convicted by the mainstream media in the court of public opinion on just allegations. There is no concrete evidence or proof. The court of law is the proper place for these allegations to have gone, not to the media.” Eubank went on to say if the ” state Republican Party decide to remove Moore from the ballot, or if they worked to disallow or decertify an election won by Moore, there would be a revolt, which she said would be ‘bad’ for Republicans in next year’s statewide election.” Kayla Moore took the mic to reiterate her husband would not quit the race. “After all the attacks against me, against my family against the Foundation and against my husband, he will not step down. He will not stop fighting for the people of Alabama,” Kayla Moore said. Moore has been under fire since The Washington Post published an explosive report on Thursday Nov. 9 with the accounts of four women who claim he sexually pursued them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens. Since that time, five more woman have come forward with similar accusations against Moore. Moore faces the Democratic nominee Doug Jones in the special election on Dec. 12. Watch video from the event below:
Terry Lathan elected Alabama GOP chairwoman
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Republicans have elected Terry Lathan of Mobile as chairwoman of the state party. Lathan is a former schoolteacher who has worked 35 years in various leadership positions in the Mobile County GOP and the state executive committee. She defeated former state Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin. Lathan comes to the job with Alabama Republicans at a historical high point. The GOP holds every statewide office, supermajorities in the legislature and controls the state appeals courts. An anti-tax advocate, Lathan also takes the helm as Republican Gov. Robert Bentley pitches a tax hike that many GOP activists oppose. The Republican Executive Committee will continue with other officer elections later Saturday, including a secretary’s race that includes Kayla Moore, wife of state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.
