Trump-backed Rep Barry Moore loses Alabama Senate runoff to Jared Hudson

President Donald Trump’s endorsement wasn’t enough to boost Republican Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama to victory in the ballot box showdown for the southeastern state’s Republican Senate nomination.

Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore was defeated by rival Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper, in Tuesday’s runoff election in solidly red Alabama, the Associated Press reports.

Moore and Hudson were the top two finishers in last month’s Republican primary, but with no candidate topping 50% of the vote, they both advanced to the runoff.

Hudson will now be considered the clear frontrunner in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor this year rather than seeking re-election to the Senate.

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Besides being a combat veteran, Hudson has served as a sheriff’s deputy, firefighter, small business owner and current head of a nonprofit that trains law enforcement in taking out human traffickers.

Hudson was endorsed by then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is now Trump’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, Sen. Tim Sheehy, the National Association for Gun Rights PAC, and conservative activists and media star Riley Gaines.

Hudson, running as an outsider, edged out state Attorney General Steve Marshall to advance to the runoff.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

Moore, who represents Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, in the southern portion of southeastern state, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

The congressman, who founded a waste hauling company and later served as a state lawmaker before first winning election to the U.S. House in 2020, was one of the first politicians to endorse Trump in 2015 when the president first ran for the White House.

Besides Trump, Moore was also endorsed by Vice President JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

Hudson will face off in November against either Dakarai Larriett, a petcare business owner, or attorney and former judge Everett Wess.

While he wasn’t on the ballot, Trump’s immense clout over the GOP was facing another key test in Alabama.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past month, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT PUT TO THE TEST IN ALABAMA SENATE RUNOFF TO REPLACE TUBERVILLE

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

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Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.