Senate Leadership Fund opens second front in Senate battle, now attacking Roy Moore
Senate Leadership Fund is giving Rep. Mo Brooks something of a break, turning its sights to hard-right social conservative Roy Moore, also in the race for U.S. Senate. On Tuesday, the super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell began running ads against Moore, essentially launching a second front in the contentious midsummer battle for the remainder of Jeff Session’s Senate seat. SLF is backing Sen. Luther Strange in the Aug. 15 special Senate primary. Strange was appointed to the seat in February by then-Gov. Robert Bentley after Sessions stepped down to become Donald Trump’s Attorney General. With two weeks left in the race, the Washington Examiner reports that SLF is investing more than $435,000 on both television and radio ads attacking Moore, the former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice. The ad buy is statewide — except in the Huntsville media market, where ads blasting Brooks will continue. Brooks represents Alabama’s 5th Congressional District, which covers much of Northern Alabama. “Roy Moore; there’s so much more,” the 30-second TV spot — called “Fund” AL — opens with a voice-over. “Despite being one of the highest paid judges in the nation, raking in more than $170,000 a year, Roy Moore, wanted more. So, Roy and his wife took over $1 million from a charity they ran, paying themselves $1 million and spending even more on travel, including a private jet.” Moore has also blasted Strange, accusing him of being a McConnell pawn, which plays well into the anti-establishment trend running through Alabama Republican politics, where Sessions is still beloved. Moore has also been getting some traction with the base voters of staunch social conservatives. Despite being ousted from the Alabama Supreme Court 15 years ago after he installed a Ten Commandments monument at the state court building, voters put Moore back in the same job some 10 years later. Moore was removed again from the Court after he refused to defend the federal law legalizing same-sex marriage. Arguing he did nothing wrong by upholding state law, he claimed to be a victim of a campaign from a variety of liberal-leaning groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Examiner reports on a recent Moore fundraising email, where he says: “My opponent is receiving ‘money by the barrelful’ from Mitch McConnell.” Brooks, who had been the sole target of SLF attacks in Alabama until now, has also bashed McConnell while pushing back on accusations he refused to support Trump in the primaries, and was slow to embrace the nominee in the general election. Other Republicans the 9-person field include Dr. James Beretta, Joseph Breault, Alabama Christian Coalition president Randy Brinson, Mary Maxwell, Bryan Peeples and state Sen. Trip Pittman of Baldwin County. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot for the primary is Aug. 10. If there is no primary winner — with 50 percent plus one — a runoff is Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12. Given Alabama’s strong Republican lean, whoever wins the primary — either outright or in the runoff — will most likely represent the state in the U.S. Senate. Both ads are available on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8q2NEZmSAA&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwwujICELGA&feature=youtu.be
Top GOP Senate candidates tout endorsements in final sprint to primary day
The top GOP candidates running to finish out Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ term in the Senate each publicized major campaign endorsements Monday. CD 5 U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks picked up support from conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who said Alabamians have “a chance this year to save the country by sending Congressman Mo Brooks to the US Senate.” “Despite my general policy of not making endorsements in GOP state primaries, this moment in history is too important not to endorse Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks for the Senate seat vacated by the great Jeff Sessions,” she said. Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore sent out an email Monday touting an endorsement from the Alabama Republican Assembly, which announced it would back Moore last week. Don Wallace, who heads up the Southeast Region of the ALRA, said “while there are several good candidates that are running for this position and who would serve Alabama well in the Senate, the Republican Assembly voted overwhelmingly for Judge Moore because of his demonstrable commitment to conservative principles and a willingness to stand up against an out of control Federal Judiciary.” Not to be outdone, sitting U.S. Sen. Luther Strange came out with a new ad highlighting the endorsement he received from the National Rifle Association back in May. In the 30-second ad, titled “Drain the Swamp,” Strange says he’s working with President Donald Trump’s administration to curb illegal immigration and build a wall on the country’s southern border. The ad then displays the NRA seal and he mentions the group’s endorsement over video of Strange firing a handgun at a shooting range. A recent poll from Raycom News Network put Strange and Moore in a statistical tie heading into the final stretch, with Brooks coming in as the only other GOP candidate in the nine-person field with double digit support. Alabama requires a primary runoff election if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, which seems likely given current poll numbers. The primary race is set for Aug. 15. The primary runoff, if necessary, will be Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12.
Mo Brooks hits back on Luther Strange’s ‘deceptive attacks’ in Senate primary
Mo Brooks is hitting back on the recent wave of “deceptive attacks” from opponents in the Alabama’s U.S. Senate race. Brooks’ new ad is the latest push on Sen. Luther Strange over who is the true Donald Trump supporter in the increasingly heated midsummer Alabama Senate primary to serve the rest of Attorney General Jeff Session’s term. The 30-second “Support Trump,” which launched Tuesday, reaffirms his “strong support” of Trump’s agenda, touting he voted with the president “95 percent of the time in Congress.” Strange — who has enjoyed support from the Senate Leadership Fund, linked to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — has leveled waves of negative hits on Brooks, trying to paint the four-term Huntsville Republican congressman as a tepid (at best) Trump supporter and even a “closet liberal.” “There’s only one ‘Never Trumper’ in this race: Luther Strange,” said Brooks, a member of the House Freedom Caucus. “I supported President Trump in 2016 and wrote a $2,500 check to help him win. Luther never endorsed Trump, never donated and is now helping Mitch McConnell block the America First Agenda in the Senate.” “So, who are you going to believe: Mitch McConnell and Luther Strange?” he asks. With a “proven conservative” record, Brooks finishes his ad with a list of endorsements from leading “conservative thought leaders” such as Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Ann Coulter. Strange and Brooks are locked in a contentious primary battle, part of a nine-person GOP field that includes former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. All three are running for a place in the race’s staunch conservative lane in a state that overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2016. Other Republican candidates in the race include Dr. James Beretta, Joseph Breault, Alabama Christian Coalition president Randy Brinson, Mary Maxwell, Bryan Peeples and state Sen. Trip Pittman of Baldwin County. As for who will ultimately represent Alabama, voters have less than two weeks to decide before the Aug. 15 Republican and Democratic primaries. The last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Aug. 10. If there is no primary winner — with 50 percent plus one — a runoff is Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12. “Support Trump” is now available on YouTube.
Alabama Republican Assembly backs Roy Moore for Senate
With just over two weeks to go until the special primary election for the rest of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Senate term, the Alabama Republican Assembly announced it would back former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore for the GOP nomination. The Alabama Republican Assembly announced its support for Moore on July 26, citing his “correct moral and constitutional principles” as what sets him apart in the crowded Republican Primary race. “Judge Moore is a proven fighter, personally and politically, and will stand strong for government that abides by the Constitution,” said ALRA President Jennifer Montrose. Don Wallace, who heads up the Southeast Region of the ALRA, said “while there are several good candidates that are running for this position and who would serve Alabama well in the Senate, the Republican Assembly voted overwhelmingly for Judge Moore because of his demonstrable commitment to conservative principles and a willingness to stand up against an out of control Federal Judiciary.” Montrose closed out the endorsement by issuing a call to arms for “all conservatives to join us in supporting Judge Roy Moore in the August Republican Primary. Moore’s major rivals in the primary race are sitting U.S. Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year by scandal-plagued former Gov. Robert Bentley, and CD 5 U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and has recently doubled down on his concerns with President Donald Trump’s administration. A recent poll from Raycom News Network put Strange and Moore in a statistical tie heading into the final stretch, with Brooks coming in as the only other GOP candidate in the nine-person field with double digit support. Alabama requires a primary runoff election if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, which seems likely given current poll numbers. The primary race is set for Aug. 15. The primary runoff, if necessary, will be Sept. 26; the general election is Dec. 12.
In blow to GOP unity, Donald Trump refuses to back Paul Ryan, John McCain
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain just two weeks after pledging to bring the fractured GOP together at the party’s nominating convention. He also ripped into New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte in the same interview with the Washington Post. All three have primary challengers, and all three disapproved of Trump’s criticism of the Muslim American parents of an Army captain killed in Iraq. Trump’s refutation of Ryan, the nation’s most senior elected Republican, carried particular derision. “I’m just not there yet,” Trump said in the interview. Those are very close to the words Ryan used in the long months before he endorsed Trump, telling CNN on May 6, “I’m not there right now.” Ryan never sought Trump’s endorsement, his spokesman said. “Neither Speaker Ryan nor anyone on his team has ever asked for Donald Trump’s endorsement,” said Zack Roday, Ryan’s campaign spokesman. “And we are confident in a victory next week regardless.” The billionaire celebrity famous for retaliating when he feels insulted also refused to endorse McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam who Trump previously derided for having been captured. “I’ve never been there with John McCain because I’ve always felt that he should have done a much better job for the vets,” Trump told the newspaper Tuesday. “So I’ve always had a difficult time with John for that reason, because our vets are not being treated properly. They’re not being treated fairly.” As for Ayotte, who is running for a second Senate term and skipped the Republican National Convention, Trump said: “You have a Kelly Ayotte who doesn’t want to talk about Trump, but I’m beating her in the polls by a lot.” “We need loyal people in this country,” Trump added in the interview. “We need fighters in this country. We don’t need weak people.” McCain is a locked in a three-way race ahead of an August 30 primary. The primary for Ryan’s House seat is next week and Ayotte’s primary is next month. All three have said they would support Trump as the GOP presidential nominee. All three chided Trump for engaging in a flap with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart after his death in 2004. From the podium of the Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan criticized Trump’s position on Muslims and asked whether the real estate mogul had read the Constitution. Trump said the grieving father had “no right” to criticize him but later acknowledged their son is a hero. McCain’s response was a lengthy denunciation in which he said the GOP nomination does not confer on Trump “unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us.” Ryan condemned any criticism of Muslim-Americans who serve their country. “Captain Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice – and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan – should always be honored. Period,” Ryan said. Ayotte declared she was “appalled” by Trump’s spat with the Khans. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
