Roy Moore: 'The Battle Rages on'

Alabama Republican still won't concede, but another Senate race could be in his future
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 14, 2017 7:51 AM CST
Roy Moore Could Try Again in 2020
Roy Moore speaks in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

As recently as Wednesday evening, Roy Moore was refusing to concede the Alabama Senate election to Doug Jones, who bested Moore by 21,000 votes Tuesday to become the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Alabama in 25 years. "The battle rages on," Moore said in a video released late Wednesday, reports ABC News. He noted some military and provisional ballots are still being counted and suggested he'll concede only with "certification by the secretary of state." Yet the Republican might also be looking beyond the election, to the future. Noting it's unlikely Moore will leave politics, the AP reports he could make his third bid for governor in 2018—or perhaps revive his campaign against Jones in an effort to nab his Senate seat in 2020.

Either option could prove difficult for Moore, who faces sexual misconduct allegations from eight women and "has now lost more statewide races than he's won in Alabama," per the AP. Republican strategist John Stipanovich has referred to Moore as "a terrible candidate," per the Hill, and Jonathan Bernstein at the Denver Post notes that "Republicans aren’t going to put up a bad candidate every time," especially with such a slim majority in the Senate. "You need good candidates to win in Senate races," Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said in response to Moore's loss Tuesday. "Alabamians didn't want somebody who dated 14-year-old girls." The AP notes Moore might also return to the Foundation for Moral Law, a group he founded with the aim "to restore the knowledge of God in law and government." (More Roy Moore stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X