Moore, Strange head to Senate runoff; Jones wins Democratic nod

Aug. 16--Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and Alabama Sen. Luther Strange are headed to a runoff for the Republican nomination for Alabama's junior U.S. Senate seat after a bruising campaign that turned on which candidate most favored Donald Trump.

On the Democratic side, former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones easily won the party's nomination for the seat. Turnout was projected to range somewhere between 10 and 15 percent statewide.

With 87 percent of the ballots counted on Tuesday, Moore had 40 percent of the vote, riding a strong performance in the Wiregrass and rural Alabama. Strange had 32 percent, buoyed by the Birmingham suburbs. U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Madison, had 20 percent of the vote. Several other candidates polled in the single digits.

Speaking at an election night party in Montgomery Tuesday night, blasted "silk-stockinged Washington insiders" who, he said, had funded Strange's campaign.

"I think the voters of Alabama have just sent a powerful message to Washington DC, a powerful message that can't be denied," Moore said. "They want them to stop playing games with the people of America."

Strange thanked supporters at a rally in Homewood, where he reminded them that he received a tweeted endorsement from Trump.

"What it really all boils down to is who is best suited to stand with this president to make America great again," he said.

In the Democratic primary, Jones took 64 percent of the vote, well ahead of business executive Robert Kennedy Jr., who polled 19 percent.

Jones said in a phone interview Tuesday night his campaign was starting to look at the general election on Dec. 12.

"We can start looking toward the December election and start reaching out to people to remind them there's another candidate in race, who talks to their issues and speaks to the things they care about," he said.

Jones won 58 percent on the vote in Montgomery. On the Republican side, Moore took 33 percent of the county's vote, to 30 percent for Strange.

The result meant another six weeks of air wars between Strange -- heavily backed by Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. -- and Moore, whose base continues to stick by the judge.

The Republican race very quickly focused on national issues, in no small measure due to Strange's big funding advantage over the other candidates. The incumbent, with the help of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), tried to turn the race into a referendum on loyalty to Trump. Strange used devout phrases to describe the president -- at one event, he called Trump's election a "biblical miracle" -- while the SLF hammered Brooks over criticisms of Trump he made during last year's presidential campaign, when Brooks supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for president.

No Republican candidate wanted to be viewed as a Never Trumper by a GOP electorate that still approves the president. Brooks pointed to a check he wrote for get-out-the-vote efforts for Trump in Florida last year, while Moore said the "hand of God" was present in last year's election. But Strange's praise of the president appeared to sway some Republican voters, like Kendall Hayward of Prattville.

"I'm tired of the fighting in Washington," she said. "We're in charge of all three branches of government and we can't get anything done. It's ridiculous. And I'm hoping Luther Strange will be on the Trump train and bring us some change that we need in Washington."

But many others, even some who voted for Strange, said it made no difference. Susan Wimberly, a retiree, said she believed Moore was the "most honest" and that he would support the president's agenda.

"He'll stand up for what's right, even if it's against Trump," she said.

Moore made it clear in his speech he would try to tie Strange to Washington DC.

"I want to thank you all for what you've done and what I pray you will do to beat this elitist crowd out of Washington," he said.

The focus on Trump did help Strange steer away much of the air war from his appointment by former Gov. Robert Bentley, the most significant weight around his neck. Neither Brooks nor Moore made much of the issue in their campaign, and most, though not all, Republican voters interviewed Tuesday said the appointment did not affect their vote.

Their counter-punching focused instead on McConnell, unpopular with most Republicans, and Congress' failure to pass a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, a stated goal of most Republican officials. Brooks' supporters said that affected their vote.

"We have a president, and both houses (of Congress) are Republican, and nothing's getting done unless it's a presidential mandate," said Karen Wolfe, who works in a veterinary office in Auburn. "I feel like (Brooks) will support our president and get things done that need to be done."

A message seeking comment was left with Brooks Tuesday. al.com reported Tuesday that Brooks in his concession speech thanked "the people behind" Strange -- "McConnell, the Washington establishment, the K street lobbyists. They put together some very tough ads knowing full well I was not in position to respond."

Moore in his speech praised Brooks for running an "ethical campaign."

"He like others who stood against the Washington crowd deserved better," he said.

The arguments about Trump tended to push Alabama to the sidelines. All the Republican candidates supported Affordable Care Act repeal, but cuts to Medicaid in congressional bills -- which would have hit Alabama's health care sector hard -- did not appear to stop them. The national tone extended even to candidates' strategies: Strange tended to do interviews on national outlets -- particularly Fox News -- that were unlikely to challenge him.

Democrats

The Democratic race, where the top three candidates combined raised $150,000 less for their campaigns than Strange did in July alone, was far more low-key. Jones won key endorsements from the Alabama Democratic Conference; U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell and former Vice President Joe Biden, but some polls indicated that Kennedy would have an advantage, due in part to sharing his name with a Democratic icon. Jones, though, had no problem winning an easy victory.

The candidates all stuck with mainstream Democratic viewpoints, supporting reproductive rights and the Affordable Care Act while criticizing Trump over immigration policies and the environment.

Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate election since 1992 and face a tough battle in the general election. But national Democrats are taking a look at the race, particularly if Moore wins the GOP nomination. Jones said they were going to lay the groundwork for an "Alabama campaign."

"We have already started to think about where we are," he said. "We have things in place, and we're going to make some calls and do some things . . . we've been fairly strategic which I think is one of the reasons we were successful tonight."

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