Roy Moore is probably going to win in the Alabama Senate runoff tonight. Moore was the chief justice for the state Supreme Court who was removed for refusing to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments in the early 2000s. He then ran and won again for the chief justice spot on the court, but was suspended when he announced he would not honor the Obergefell ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, which said that same-sex couples have the right to marry under the equal protection clause. He also said the 9/11 attacks were due to the country turning our back on God. He’s peddled birtherism. There’s no doubt the man beats his own drum—and he will be the next senator from Alabama. Yet, what could be the cherry on the top of this rather nutty sundae? Well, he pulled out a gun to show his support for the Second Amendment. It’s not unusual in the slightest for Mr. Moore and before everyone loses their minds—Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) held a musket at CPAC a few years ago, so relax (via the Hill):
During the rally — which came just hours ahead of the Republican primary runoff Tuesday — Moore said he dealt with nearly three months of negative ads, ABC News reported.
"Ads that were completely false. That I don't believe in the Second Amendment," Moore, a former state Supreme Court chief justice, said.
He then turned and pulled out a handgun, while saying: "I believe in the Second Amendment."
The comment was met with cheers from the audience.
Moore headed into Election Day leading in polls over Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), who has the backing of President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Strange's allies had poured nearly $11 million into the race as of Friday, and Strange's campaign organization has outspent Moore by more than 300 percent.
Moore has been ahead comfortably of incumbent Republican Sen. Luther Strange by at least a ten-point margin. Yet, Politico did note that it could be closer due to discrepancies between the public and private polling, the latter of which convinced the Trump White House to back Strange:
“In a low-turnout, special [primary runoff] election, polls are going to be all over the place,” said Chris Kratzer, vice president of polling and communications at Cygnal, which released a poll in the initial primary. “A turnout swing of 30,000 or 40,000 could have a huge impact in a race like this.”
The public polling — which is limited — unanimously shows Moore leading Strange, who was appointed to replace Jeff Sessions after he was named attorney general. Moore has a 9-point lead, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Only three of the surveys included in that average were conducted after Labor Day. The two most recent surveys, released this week, both showed Moore 8 points ahead of Strange.
But Strange’s deep-pocketed allies have been asserting in recent weeks that the race is tighter, sharing private poll results with media outlets aimed at reshaping the narrative. These outside groups — which include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Senate Leadership Fund, a PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — believe their data are accurate and have invested significant resources to pull Strange across the finish line.
Yet, we all know how the polls were in 2016.