Roy Moore said he is “seriously considering” a 2020 rematch against the current incumbent Alabama senator.
The fiery and controversial candidate, who became the first Republican to lose a U.S. Senate race in Alabama in 21 years for his defeat by now-Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, says that he is open to the idea of running for the GOP’s nomination again.
“I’m seriously considering it. I think that was stolen,” Moore said of the race during a Friday interview.
What many would have considered an easy win for Republicans to replace Jeff Sessions, who vacated his seat after President Trump nominated him to be attorney general in 2017, quickly got national attention.
Luther Strange, the Alabama attorney general who had been appointed to Sessions’ seat and was the favorite to win the GOP nomination in the special election, was ousted by the firebrand candidate Moore. Moore’s candidacy was engulfed by allegations he dated teenage girls when he was in his 30s, including by one woman who said they had sexual contact when she was 14 and he was 32.
When asked if he dated teenage girls, he responded that he does not date girls without their mother’s permission. Moore denied any wrongdoing.
Despite the allegations, Trump did not rescind his endorsement of Moore. The Republican National Committee also remained supportive of the candidate.
This time around, however, the National Republican Senatorial Committee isn’t keen on standing by a Moore candidacy, pledging to do everything in its power to block his ascension to the GOP nomination.
“The NRSC’s official stance is ABRM: anyone but Roy Moore,” said Kevin McLaughlin, the committee’s executive director. “The only thing Doug Jones and I agree on is that his only prayer for electoral success in 2020 is a rematch with Roy Moore.”
Caleb Moore, the former candidate’s son, has already started a political action committee called the Conservative States of America and began raising funds.
The new PAC’s logo was obtained by the Washington Examiner. The logo reads “C.S.A.,” which was the acronym used by the Confederate States of America during the civil war.
Moore’s son, in an interview with the Washington Examiner, defended the name of the PAC and the logo. He said the group is a multicandidate PAC that is not affiliated with his father, although he would not rule out running ads on his father’s behalf should he run for Senate.
“I don’t even think he knows I’m raising money,” the younger Moore said. Regarding the name and logo of the PAC, he said: “People take things that are actually good and turn them into vices.”
Rep. Bradley Byrne is the only Republican who has formally declared for the 2020 Senate race. His colleague Rep. Gary Palmer is also said to be mulling a bid for the GOP nomination. The incumbent Jones has declared his intention to run for a full term and is expected to win the Democratic nomination uncontested.
