The Latest: Roy Moore announces another run for US Senate

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on Roy Moore's decision on whether to run for U.S. Senate (all times local):

Alabama Republican Roy Moore has announced he is running for U.S. Senate again in 2020 after failing to win the seat two years ago amid sexual misconduct accusations.

Moore announced his campaign Thursday, seeking an eventual rematch against Democratic Sen. Doug Jones. The announcement upends an election viewed by Republicans as a top priority in 2020 and ignores President Donald Trump's warning that he "cannot win."

In 2017, Moore narrowly lost the special election to fill the seat that had belonged to Jeff Sessions. He faced allegations of sexual misconduct with teenagers decades ago.

The former Alabama chief justice has a following among evangelical voters after defying federal court orders regarding same-sex marriage and the public display of the Ten Commandments.

Alabama Republican Roy Moore will announce if he is running for U.S. Senate in 2020.

Moore lost the 2017 special election to Democratic Sen. Doug Jones amid allegations of past sexual misconduct with teenagers. Moore denied the allegations.

President Donald Trump last month appeared to discourage Moore from entering the race. Trump tweeted that Moore "cannot win" and said Republicans need to retake the seat in the once reliably red state.

Congressman Bradley Byrne, former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville and state legislator Arnold Mooney have already announced GOP primary bids.

A former Alabama chief justice, Moore maintains a following among some evangelical voters because of his stances against same-sex marriage and for the public display of the Ten Commandments. </s> (Reuters) - Alabama Republican Roy Moore, whose 2017 U.S. Senate bid was derailed by allegations of decades-old sexual misconduct involving teenage girls, said on Thursday he would run again for the seat next year, defying his party’s leadership.

The prospect of a rematch between Moore – a conservative former judge who cultivated controversy even before the salacious allegations against him – and U.S. Senator Doug Jones – widely considered the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in 2020 – had gotten pushback from Republican Party leaders, including President Donald Trump.

“If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost,” Trump wrote on Twitter last month. “Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating!”

Moore, 72, embraced his status as an outsider on Thursday, criticizing Republicans in Washington for trying to influence the Alabama race. He did not go after Trump, however, saying the president was pushed by party leadership to oppose him.

“Yes, I can win,” Moore said. “Not only can I, they know I can. That’s why there’s such opposition.”

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted that Moore was “going against my father and doing a disservice to all conservatives across the country in the process.”

Democrats need a net gain of three seats in 2020 to win a majority in the 100-seat Senate, a task made easier if Jones can hang onto his seat in a state that Trump won in 2016 by nearly 30 percentage points.

Jones became the first Democratic senator from Alabama in decades when he narrowly won a special election after Moore was accused of pursuing sexual relationships with teenagers when he was in his 30s, including one girl as young as 14. He has denied all the allegations.

That race was to fill the seat held by Jeff Sessions, who became U.S. attorney general. The November 2020 election is for a full six-year term.

Several other Republicans, including former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville and U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne, have announced they will challenge Jones.

Republican leaders wasted little time making it clear they disfavored Moore’s candidacy.

Moore still enjoys a base of support among evangelical voters. He was twice ousted as the state’s chief judge – once for refusing a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the judicial building and once for barring same-sex marriages despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing them.

In announcing his bid, Moore returned to the fiery rhetoric for which he is known, insisting his actions in both cases were justified and promising to put God at the center of his campaign.

In 2017, before the sexual misconduct allegations came to light, Moore won his party’s nomination over establishment-backed Republican incumbent Luther Strange. A super PAC affiliated with McConnell spent millions of dollars boosting Strange’s candidacy, and Trump appeared at a rally on Strange’s behalf.

Some Republicans abandoned Moore after the accusations became public, and the party’s Senate campaign arm cut ties with his campaign. But Trump endorsed Moore and sought to cast doubt on the veracity of the allegations against him.

Alabama’s other U.S. senator, Republican Richard Shelby, told reporters on Thursday ahead of the news conference that he would not support a Moore candidacy.

A Moore campaign could prove to be a “headache” for Republicans running for office elsewhere, according to Zac McCrary, an Alabama-based Democratic pollster.

“Mitch McConnell and Republicans across the country don’t want to spend the next year and a half answering questions about Roy Moore,” McCrary said. </s> The Latest on Alabama's GOP primary (all times local):

Incumbent Sen. Luther Strange wished jurist Roy Moore well after losing the Alabama Republican primary for Senate.

Strange told his supporters Tuesday night that "we wish (Moore) well going forward."

But he quickly shifted to his own bewilderment at the race he just finished. "We're dealing with a political environment that I've never had any experience with," he said.

"I'm telling you, the political seas and winds in this country right now ... are very hard to navigate, very hard to understand."

Strange also thanked President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for backing him.

Strange said Trump, may "be criticized" for coming to Alabama on his behalf. "Sometimes it's just about friendship ... a common goal to make the country better," he said.

A group that put millions of dollars behind Sen. Luther Strange in Alabama's Senate race says it will now back Roy Moore.

Senate Leadership Fund President and CEO Steven Law said Tuesday that Moore won the nomination "fair and square."

Law says Moore "has our support, as it is vital that we keep this seat in Republican hands."

The group, which has ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, put millions of dollars behind Strange in the heated GOP primary with Moore.

Firebrand jurist Roy Moore has won the Alabama Republican primary for U.S. Senate, defeating an appointed incumbent backed by President Donald Trump and allies of Sen. Mitch McConnell.

In an upset likely to rock the party establishment, Moore clinched victory Tuesday over Sen. Luther Strange to win the GOP nomination for the Senate seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Moore will face Democrat Doug Jones in a Dec. 12 special election.

Moore is the state's former chief justice who was twice removed from his duties for defying federal courts over same-sex marriage and the public display of the Ten Commandments.

Propelled by evangelical voters, Moore consolidated support from a number of anti-establishment forces, including former White House strategist Steve Bannon.

Alabama Sen. Luther Strange has yet to appear at his election night party where several dozen of his supporters are gathering to watch early returns showing Strange trailing Roy Moore in a U.S. Senate primary runoff.

Strange's supporters were late arrivals to the suburban Birmingham hotel, and many are quietly watching returns and suggesting that Moore's wide leads in many counties will be too much for Strange to overcome.

He was appointed to the seat earlier this year when Jeff Sessions won confirmation as the nation's attorney general.

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore entered his election night party to applause from supporters optimistic that he will win the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.

Moore smiled broadly Tuesday evening as he exchanged handshakes and hugs from supporters. He did not speak to the crowd.

He will watch returns in a room in another part of the building.

Moore is competing against incumbent Sen. Luther Strange for the nomination for Attorney General Jeff Sessions' former Senate seat.

Former University of Alabama running back Siran Stacy, who is now a pastor, led the crowd in a prayer as they held their hands up in worship, and a hymn.

The crowd applauded as the first results showed Moore leading in rural counties.

Voting ended 7 p.m. Tuesday in the race to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions' former Senate seat.

U.S. Sen. Luther Strange and firebrand jurist Roy Moore are competing in the Alabama's GOP primary that has pitted President Donald Trump against a former top adviser.

Trump is backing Strange. Former White House strategist Steve Bannon is supporting Moore. Moore's campaign chairman said Bannon is expected to attend Moore's election night party in Montgomery, Alabama.

Sen. Luther Strange is urging voters to get the polls in Alabama's heated GOP runoff for the Senate seat.

"President Donald Trump needs you NOW!" the campaign wrote in a Tuesday message that was emailed to supporters at midday. The campaign urged people to get to the polls before they close at 7 p.m.

His campaign has emphasized his endorsement from Trump.

Strange voted early Tuesday morning in the race where he faces former state chief justice Roy Moore. Strange then greeted breakfast diners at nearby restaurants.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill says turnout for the state's Republican runoff for U.S. Senate is so far looking pretty low.

Merrill said he was projecting a 12 to 15 percent turnout for Tuesday's race.

Sen. Luther Strange and Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore are vying for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat that belonged to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Low turnout is largely considered to be positive for Moore, who has a loyal following among state evangelical voters.

Moore led Strange by about 25,000 votes in the crowded August primary, and runoff polls have shown him leading or in a dead heat with Strange.

Turnout for the August primary was 17 percent.

Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore has cast his ballot after riding a horse to his rural polling place in northeastern Alabama.

Moore wore a short-sleeve shirt and a white cowboy hat Tuesday morning as he climbed off his mount outside the Gallant Volunteer Fire Department.

Accompanied by relatives, he chatted with fellow voters and marked his ballot in the tiny precinct.

Moore and appointed Sen. Luther Strange are vying for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Strange voted earlier in suburban Birmingham.

Moore says riding a horse to vote is an Election Day tradition for him. His house is near his polling place.

Alabama Sen. Luther Strange is billing himself as the "true conservative" as voters go to the polls in the state's special GOP primary runoff election.

Strange called a supportive conservative talk show on Birmingham's WERC radio after voting Tuesday. He made a final plea for support in his race against former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.

Moore is casting Strange as being part of the problem in Washington since he's supported by the GOP establishment. But Strange denies that and says he's only trying to get President Donald Trump's agenda passed through Congress.

A super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has pumped millions of dollars into the Alabama race on behalf of Strange. But Strange says he only met McConnell a few months ago and denies being close to him.

The winner of the Republican runoff will face Democratic nominee Doug Jones in the general election.

Polls have opened in a special U.S. Senate election in Alabama where President Donald Trump is backing the establishment candidate to keep the seat once held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Trump supported Sen. Luther Strange with a Tweet sent before voting began Tuesday morning.

Strange is being opposed by former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, known for publicly displaying the Ten Commandments and opposing gay marriage. Former Trump aide Steve Bannon spoke at a rally in support of Moore on Monday night.

Moore led Strange by about 25,000 votes in the crowded August primary. Runoff polls have shown him leading, or in a dead heat with, Strange, who is a former state attorney general.

President Donald Trump is making a final push for Sen. Luther Strange in Alabama's GOP primary.

Trump tweeted early Tuesday before voting began: "Luther Strange has been shooting up in the Alabama polls since my endorsement. Finish the job - vote for 'Big Luther.'"

The Alabama primary is being closely watched to see how much political sway Trump still has in the populist, conservative movement that helped send him to the White House.

Strange, the establishment-backed incumbent, is locked in a tight race with former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. Moore is a jurist known for pushing unsuccessfully for the public display of the Ten Commandments and opposing gay marriage. He is backed by some of Trump's most ardent supporters and has the support of Trump's former aide Steve Bannon.

U.S. Sen. Luther Strange and firebrand jurist Roy Moore face off in Alabama's GOP primary that has pitted President Donald Trump against a former top adviser.

Vice President Mike Pence campaigned for Strange in Alabama ahead of Tuesday's runoff. Trump's former strategist Steve Bannon endorsed Moore, arguing he's a better fit for the "populist, nationalist, conservative movement."

The two Republicans are vying for Attorney General Jeff Sessions' former Senate seat. The winner will face Democrat Doug Jones in December.

Strange, the state's former attorney general, was appointed to the seat in February. Moore is the state's former chief justice. He was twice ousted from those duties over stands against gay marriage and for the public display of the Ten Commandments. </s> MONTGOMERY, Ala. (CBS) -- Embattled former judge and one-time Senate candidate Roy Moore is throwing his hat back into the ring and running for Senate in Alabama, looking to defeat incumbent Doug Jones. Moore, a Republican, narrowly lost to Jones in a 2017 special election to fill former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' vacant Senate seat.

"Yes, I will run for the United States Senate in 2020," Moore said Thursday, announcing his candidacy for next year's election. "Can I win? Yes, I can win."

During his Thursday press conference, Moore said he would continue to "stand up for the U.S. Constitution, stronger border security" and the "right to keep and bear arms."

Taking a page out of President Trump's book, Moore also lambasted Democrats for carrying out what he claimed was "evidence of intent to disrupt a state senate race." He said such "collusion" by Democratic operatives in Washington, D.C. would not be tolerated and claimed that Jones was the "beneficiary of election hacking."

Moore's campaign was widely condemned by both Republicans and Democrats after numerous women came forward with detailed claims of sexual misconduct against Moore when he was a judge. Moore denied any wrongdoing.

Moore's troubled past

Once the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Moore has been removed from the bench twice. The first removal came after he defied a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. Then, after he was elected again, a judicial discipline panel permanently suspended Moore in 2016, ruling that he urged probate judges to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of the federal courts.

Moore later faced off against Luther Strange in the Alabama primary. Despite video surfacing of Moore saying at a speech shortly before the primary that "we have blacks and whites fighting, reds and yellows fighting, Democrats and Republicans fighting, men and women fighting," Moore defeated Strange, who had been endorsed by President Trump.

But it was the multitude of sexual misconduct allegations that further tarnished his less-than-glowing career, leading to his narrow loss in the 2017 special election. Several women came forward during Moore's campaign alleging he had touched or kissed them inappropriately when they were teens and he was an adult.

Moore repeatedly denied he ever made unwanted sexual advances to teenage girls, chalking up the accusations to "dirty politics."

"We see malicious and false attacks which reflect the immorality of our time," Moore said at a rally in the final days of his campaign.

Moore's chances

Despite his second shot at the Senate, Moore has been dealt an early blow by Mr. Trump, who suggested last month Moore can't win the Senate seat.

"Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama," the president tweeted. "This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn't, and probably won't. ... If Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating....Judges and Supreme Court Justices!"

Mr. Trump endorsed Moore's 2017 campaign, despite the sexual misconduct allegations. The RNC had been reluctant to back him, but eventually conceded and threw their support behind him. Mr. Trump even recorded a robocall and tweeted on the day of the election "Vote Roy Moore!"

In an interview with CBS News Washington correspondent Major Garrett at Mr. Trump's reelection campaign launch in Orlando this week, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said, "Look, we'd be — hav[ing] the best candidate [in] Alabama would be the best thing we could have," but refused to say if that candidate could be Moore.

Moore, meanwhile, has been confident in his second attempt at political office. The candidate, who said back in March we was "seriously considering" another run, tweeted late last month that if he did indeed run, he would beat Jones.

A poll of Alabama Republicans in April showed Moore leading with 27%, with Reps. Mo Brooks, Bradley Byrne and Gary Palmer trailing just behind him.

But the Republican Party continues to minimize Moore's political ambitions, painting the Alabaman as underperforming Mr. Trump in each county by an average of 10 points, according to a Republican strategist.

Republicans are also reportedly wary that Moore's second shot could potentially boost Democratic turnout. African American voters, who make up a sizable portion of the Alabama Democratic party, voted overwhelmingly for Jones 96 percent to four percent, and African American voters made up three in ten voters in 2017, according to a CBS News exit poll.

With his win, defeating Moore by a margin of just over 21,000 votes, Jones became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the deeply red state since 1992.

The Republican primary is set for March 3, 2020. GOP Rep. Bradley Byrne and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville have already announced they'll be running, and more Republican candidates could jump in.

In a statement released shortly after Moore's announcement, Byrne's campaign manager called the Republican Congressman "a fighter who has won contested primaries before and we are ready to win this fight."

"We already have more than 200 strong conservatives across the state on our Grassroots Leadership Team. We've had over 600 volunteers sign up since we announced. Our campaign will win and defeat Doug Jones in 2020." Seth Morrow, Byrne Campaign Manager, added in a statement to CBS.

Alabama's Secretary of State John Merrill has filed papers with the Federal Election Commission but will not decide if he is running until the end of June.

Asked what he'd like to do differently this time around, Moore told reporters on Thursday: "I would like to make more personal contact with people." </s> Roy Moore’s announcement Thursday that he would once again run for the U.S. Senate in Alabama sent a shudder through the Republican Party and raised a question: Could the GOP have avoided this scenario by uniting early around a credible consensus candidate?

Moore is a former state Supreme Court chief justice who last appeared on the scene in the winter of 2017, when he was the Republican nominee for the Senate in a special election. His candidacy crashed and burned amid charges of sexual misconduct involving minors from earlier in his career, and Moore’s loss to Doug Jones marked the first time Alabama had sent a Democrat to the Senate in 20 years.

Yet now Moore is back for, well, more. He called the accusations against him “false” and cited the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh — which featured allegations of sexual assault against the judge — as an event that will make voters more skeptical of the charges against him.

“If they didn’t see through it then, they saw through it with Kavanaugh,” Moore said. “I’m in the race.”

Moore will be able to count on support from some number of hardcore supporters who view the allegations against him as politically motivated, or made up, or irrelevant, and he is helped by the absence of a clear consensus candidate in the Republican Party. There are two Republicans who have already declared: Rep. Bradley Byrne, from the state’s southwest corner, and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville.

But Alabama insiders say neither of those two candidates are formidable enough to easily defeat Moore, especially in a primary in which 50.1 percent or more will be needed to avoid a runoff.

Two other politicians seen as credible — Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth and Rep. Gary Palmer — have declined to run. Ainsworth shut the door definitively two months ago, but Palmer has not.

“I would hope that there would be stronger viable candidates. Gary Palmer would be the preference,” said Hatton Smith, a Republican businessman who has chaired fundraising efforts for mainstream candidates in the past.

However, even Palmer and Ainsworth are likely not strong enough to have cleared the field, other Alabama Republicans said.

When Jones beat Moore in 2017, Smith said it was a case of “good over evil” and said he looked forward to Republicans finding a candidate who could beat Jones in 2020. But Smith told Yahoo News in an interview Thursday that if Moore were again the Republican nominee in 2020, he and many other Republicans he knows would vote for Jones again, as they did in 2017.

“There will be a lot of mobilization of people who are Republicans who will not vote for Moore under any circumstances, and you can count me as leading the opposition,” Smith said.

Because of this, Moore’s entrance into the race is good news for Jones, who is probably the most vulnerable incumbent senator of any in the entire country. Jones’s best hope of being reelected rests on a rematch with Moore, according to one knowledgeable Alabama Republican.

That view is shared by an Alabama Democratic leader, who called the Moore candidacy a “great opportunity” for Democrats.

“Roy Moore doesn’t represent Alabama values, which is why he was rejected by a bipartisan group of Democrats, Republicans and Independents in 2017,” the state House minority leader Anthony Daniels told Yahoo News. “If we want to create opportunity for all Alabamians we need senators like [Doug Jones], not people who will embarrass our state and chase away job creators, like Moore.”

Trump, who had backed Moore the last time he ran for Senate even after the sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, has recently tried to wave Moore off from a run. In late May the president tweeted that “if Alabama does not elect a Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost.”

“Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating,” Trump said.

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, has been even more scathing. “If you actually care about #MAGA more than your own ego, it’s time to ride off into the sunset, Judge,” Trump Jr. said.

One person close to Trump said it’s unclear whether the president will continue to criticize Moore, but another Alabama Republican insider said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will advocate for Trump to push Moore out of the race. </s> Former Judge Roy Moore announced Thursday he’ll run for the US Senate seat in Alabama again following his failed bid in 2017 after three women alleged he sexually abused them when they were teenagers decades ago.

In his announcement, Moore wondered why “there’s such a fear” over his candidacy, asking if it’s because of his conservative positions and religious views.

“I think there was so much opposition because they don’t want the truth in Washington,” said Moore of his last race. “I think they want to continue the status quo.”

The Senate Republicans’ official campaign organization views a Moore candidacy as the only thing that can come between them and defeating Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, their best pickup opportunity in the country. Rep. Bradley Byrne, former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, and state Rep. Arnold Mooney have already announced their campaigns. Secretary of State John Merrill will soon announce his plans.

In 2017, Moore won the GOP nomination for a special election despite the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, spending millions of dollars against him and for then-Sen. Luther Strange, who had been appointed to fill former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ seat.

“We believe most Alabama Republicans realize that nominating Roy Moore would be gift wrapping this Senate seat for Chuck Schumer,” said SLF communications director Jack Pandol in a statement. “It remains to be seen whether Moore can escape his baggage without his candidacy collapsing under its own weight, regardless of what groups on the outside do.”

During the general election, Moore earned the high-profile support of President Donald Trump and Alabama Republican congressmen. But the National Republican Senatorial Committee cut ties with his campaign following the sexual assault allegations and then-NRSC chairman, Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, pledged to never support Moore again. Moore has denied the allegations and claimed that there was a “political conspiracy” against him.

Moore lost to Jones, a Democrat and former US attorney, by fewer than 2 points in a state that Trump won by 27.

Since then, he has lost the support of Republicans, including Trump’s. On Thursday, the President’s son, Donald Trump Jr., said on Twitter, “I can assure everyone that by running, Roy Moore is going against my father and he’s doing a disservice to all conservatives across the country in the process.”

Last month, Trump tweeted that Moore “cannot win” and the consequences of another loss would be “devastating.”

“I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win,” tweeted Trump. “But he didn’t, and probably won’t.”

In his press conference, Moore said he supports Trump and that the President will support him when he advances to the general election.

Moore has long been a controversial figure in the state. He was twice elected as Alabama chief justice but was removed both times, for installing a giant statue of the Ten Commandments in the state judicial building and for ordering lower court judges to refuse to marry same-sex couples.

“We have every right to recognize God,” Moore said. “That’ll be a main factor in my race.”

Several Alabama Republicans in Congress dismissed Moore’s candidacy. Rep. Mo Brooks has come out in favor of Mooney. Sen. Richard Shelby, Rep. Gary Palmer, and Rep. Mike Rogers have all said Moore will lose.

“I strongly believe after going through the experience in 2017 that we need a better nominee,” Byrne told CNN last month. “We need somebody that can defeat Doug Jones and somebody that we can all feel good about voting for.” </s> On Thursday, Moore claimed the 2017 election was "fraudulent" and left Alabama voters "tired" of "dirty politics." The Alabama secretary of State's office did not immediately respond to a request to comment on whether any evidence backed Moore's accusation that a disinformation campaign cost him the 2017 election.

Moore said "the people of Alabama are not only angry, but they're going to act on that anger."

During the Senate special election, the former judge denied several allegations that he made inappropriate advances on teens when he was in his 30s. On Thursday, he again called them "false claims" and "false information."

The Senate Republican campaign arm has distanced itself from Moore. Even Trump — who backed the ex-judge in 2017 as he ran a pro-Trump campaign — urged him not to run for Senate again. Trump endorsed him against Jones in 2017.

In a tweet last month, the president argued that "Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating." On Thursday, Moore denied that he had acted against the president's wishes.

"I'm not going against President Trump at all. I support President Trump," he said, adding that he thinks Trump is "being pushed" by the Senate Republican campaign arm.

National Republican groups warned that Moore's entry into the race could derail the GOP's efforts to win the seat.

In a statement Thursday, the Senate Leadership Fund — a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — said "we believe most Alabama Republicans realize that nominating Roy Moore would be gift wrapping this Senate seat for [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer." The National Republican Senatorial Committee pointed CNBC to a statement made last month by its chairman, Sen. Todd Young of Indiana.

"The people of Alabama rejected Roy Moore not too long ago," he told the AP at the time. "I with my Republican colleagues always want to be supportive of the most conservative candidate who can actually win a race, and I don't see that anything has changed in the state of Alabama since the last election."

Republican Rep. Bradley Byrne, the apparent mainstream GOP favorite, has jumped into the Republican primary. So has former college football coach Tommy Tuberville.

An early poll in April found Moore leading the Republican primary field with 27% of support. Still, much could change in the race before voters head to the polls in the spring.

In a statement, Byrne campaign manager Seth Morrow said, "Bradley is a fighter who has won contested primaries before." He added that "our campaign will win and defeat Doug Jones in 2020."

Jones' campaign tweeted that he would face either "extremist Roy Moore or an extremist handpicked by Mitch McConnell."

Moore has faced punishment more than once for how he has interpreted the law based on his religious beliefs. He was suspended in 2003 for refusing a judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state Supreme Court building.

Then in 2017, he lost an appeal to end another suspension after he argued Alabama should uphold its ban on same-sex marriage.

Moore ran unsuccessfully for statewide office before the 2017 election. He lost GOP gubernatorial primaries in both 2006 and 2010.

Asked Thursday what he would do differently to win in 2020, Moore said he would "like to make more personal contact with people."

— CNBC's Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. </s> What they’re saying: President Trump, who backed Moore in his previous run, tweeted last month that "Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama," adding that Moore "cannot win."
• In response, Moore told Politico: The president doesn’t control who votes for the United States Senate in Alabama."
• Sen. Richard Shelby, the senior senator from Alabama, also said that he believes a Moore run could hand the election to Jones. In response, Moore tweeted that if "Senator Richard Shelby would have stayed out of the 2017 race, Doug Jones would not be in the Senate now."
• In a response to Moore's announcement, the Mitch McConnell-backed Senate Leadership Fund said on Thursday: "We believe most Alabama Republicans realize that nominating Roy Moore would be gift wrapping this Senate seat for Chuck Schumer."

The big picture: The GOP's majority in the Senate has had major implications over the past two years, as judicial nominations — including two to the Supreme Court — have often been decided by a handful of votes. Now, with an aging SCOTUS and a number of judicial seats remaining vacant, the fate of just one Senate spot holds serious consequences.

What to watch: Moore is entering an already crowded field, with seven other Republicans already registered to run for the primary.

Go deeper: Roy Moore sees uptick in polls ahead of 2020 Senate race </s> Alabama Republican Roy Moore announces another run for U.S. Senate in 2020 after losing amid misconduct allegations

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Republican Roy Moore announces another run for U.S. Senate in 2020 after losing amid misconduct allegations.
Roy Moore announces that he will run for U.S. Senate again in Alabama, defying the wishes of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.