A retired U.S. Marine colonel plans to launch a write-in campaign against Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones in the Alabama Senate race, according to a report.
Retired Marine Col. Lee Busby told the Daily Beast he decided to enter the race after allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore surfaced.
“I have no idea if the allegations against him [are] true or not, but I don’t see anything within his experience as a judge that qualifies him for the job,” Busby, 60, told the publication.
The retired Marine will face off against Moore and Jones in the Dec. 12 special election to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. At least nine women have accused Moore of pursuing inappropriate relationships with them.
“Alabama is not happy with the two choices we have down here,” Busby said. “They are not appealing.”
Busby plans to run as an independent, according to the Washington Post.
Busby, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., told the Daily Beast he was in the Marine Corps for more than three decades and served as vice chief of staff to then-three star Lt. Gen. John Kelly during his last tour of duty. He served in Baghdad, Fallujah, and Ramadi, Iraq, after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and retired from the Marines in 2013. Since then, Busby has since worked as a clay sculptor of U.S. military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Washington Post.
Kelly is now White House chief of staff.
In the wake of the allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore, a number of Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said the conservative judge should withdraw from the Senate race.
McConnell also floated Sessions as a possible write-in candidate.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee pulled their support of Moore, and NRSC Chairman Cory Gardner, R-Colo., said the conservative judge could face expulsion from the Senate should he win next month.
But Moore has denied the allegations against him and said they are part of a scheme orchestrated by McConnell and the Republican establishment to keep him from winning the Senate seat.
President Trump has also continued to voice support for Moore in the Senate race, although he stopped short of a full endorsement and reportedly won’t campaign for him in Alabama.
The race between Jones and Moore has tightened following the allegations against him. A RealClearPolitics average has the two nearly tied, with Jones at 46.8 percent and Moore at 46 percent.
