(Politico)
JAMES ARKIN 06/20/2019 06:29 PM
Roy Moore, the controversial Republican judge who lost a 2017 Senate race in deep-red Alabama amid allegations of sexual misconduct with young girls decades ago, is defying GOP opposition and running again in 2020, he announced Thursday.
"I will run for the United States Senate in 2020," Moore said this afternoon at an event in Montgomery, Ala. "Can I win? Yes, I can win. Not only can I, but they know I can. That’s why there’s such opposition."
Republicans fear Moore's candidacy could be a major roadblock in the GOP’s path to retaking a critical Senate seat. Figures at every level of the party, including President Donald Trump, had urged Moore to forgo another run, fearing that he would be the only candidate who would lose to Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.
But Moore was defiant on Thursday, calling out by name leadership and staff at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as well as top advisers and allies of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
"Why is there such a fear? Why is there such anger? Why such a hatred and opposition to somebody running?" Moore said. "Why does mere mention of my name cause people to get up in arms in Washington, D.C.?"
Moore's political career has been riddled with controversy: He has twice been removed from the state Supreme Court for ethical violations. In his election to the state Supreme Court in 2012, he ran behind presidential nominee Mitt Romney by nearly 10 percentage points.
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