By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Rich Hobson, who recently served as the campaign manager for the Roy Moore for U.S. Senate campaign, will be running for Congress in Alabama’s Second Congressional District. Hobson made the announcement on Montgomery’s Capitol steps in a news conference.
Rich Hobson, age 56, is an attorney and a longtime aide to Roy Moore. Hobson was the head of the Administrative Office of Courts both times when Moore was chief justice. Hobson also was the director of the Foundation for Moral Law. Hobson said that he made the decision to run about a year ago.
Hobson addressed Judge Moore’s recent defeat for U.S. Senate. “All of us who were involved paid a price as we watched the Liberal elite in America pull off the biggest political assassination of our time; but the reason why he was hated was because he believed strongly that we will never be great again as a nation until we return to the God of our Founding Fathers,” he said.
Judge Moore was narrowly defeated in the special election for U.S. Senate by Clinton era U.S. Attorney Doug Jones (D) on Dec. 12 after the Washington Post released a story with claims from several women who said they were assaulted by Moore in the 1970s Gadsden area dating scene.
Hobson is challenging U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, who is running for her fifth two-year term in the U.S. Congress. State Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, and retired Sergeant Major Tommy Amason is also running for the Republican nomination for the House.
Republican incumbents are historically safe from primary challenges in Alabama; but Roby has angered some conservatives, who perceive her as too moderate. Wetumpka Tea Party President and founder Becky Gerritson challenged Roby two years ago. Roby won that primary; but then antagonized some GOP voters by publicly withdrawing her support for Donald Trump during the 2016 general election after the mainstream media released an old interview where Trump used an inappropriate word and appeared to be saying that he liked to abuse women.
The major party primaries are on June 5.
The Democratic Congressional Committee has targeted this seat as a possible 2018 pickup for Congressional Democrats.
(Original reporting by WSFA TV and the Alabama Media Group contributed to this report)
