On Saturday, President Donald Trump officially endorsed U.S. Representative Barry Moore, who currently represents Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, in Moore’s bid to represent Alabama in the Senate. The president’s decision could well upend the race to fill the seat current Senator Tommy Tuberville will be vacating as part of his campaign for governor.
“Barry Moore is a good friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next United States Senator from Alabama,” the president posted to Truth Social. “BARRY WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN.”
Trump also stated that Moore would “Safeguard our Elections” and “Ensure LAW AND ORDER” in his endorsement post, in addition to boasting that he had received “the highest vote in [Alabama’s] history.” (While Trump did receive the most votes in any presidential election in Alabama in 2024, several presidential candidates had received a higher percentage of votes cast, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Richard Nixon.)
In a statement posted to social media and sent to the press, Moore said he was “truly honored and thankful to receive the endorsement of President Donald Trump.”
“President Trump has always put America first, and I’m proud to have stood with him from the very beginning,” Moore wrote. “With his support, I’m ready to get to work on day one. I’ll continue fighting for Alabama values, secure borders, a strong economy, and putting the President’s America First agenda into action.”
All but one poll of the Senate race so far have found that Attorney General Steve Marshall is well in the lead with Republican voters in Alabama, although almost half of respondents report remaining undecided across most polls.
The most recent poll, conducted in December by The Alabama Poll, found 30 percent of likely voters in this year’s Republican primary supported Marshall, compared to just 12 percent for Moore. Jared Hudson, Rodney Walker and Morgan Murphy each received single-digit support.
While the endorsement may be expected to significantly increase support for Moore, Trump’s past interventions in Alabama Senate races have met mixed results.
In 2017, Trump endorsed Luther Strange, who had been appointed to fill a vacancy created by Jeff Sessions’ appointment as U.S. Attorney General, in the Republican primary and again in the primary runoff against disgraced Alabama Supreme Court justice Roy Moore. Roy Moore, however, received a plurality in the primary and won the primary runoff, only to then lose the special election to Democratic candidate Doug Jones after receiving Trump’s endorsement.
Then, following the retirement of longtime Senator Richard Shelby, Trump initially endorsed then-Congressman Mo Brooks to fill the open Senate seat. But in early 2022, he revoked that endorsement, calling Brooks “woke” and criticizing the representative for not speaking about alleged malfeasance in the 2020 election. Trump would later endorse Katie Britt.
Accordingly, whether Trump’s endorsement seriously affected the race will remain unclear until the results of new polls conducted after Saturday’s announcement are released.
On Sunday, Marshall posted a defense of his record as the state’s attorney general, highlighting his support for Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
“As your Attorney General, I’ve supported President Trump and his agenda and always put the people of Alabama First,” he stated. “I traveled with Senator Tuberville and then-Senator Vance to be the first to stand with him during the outrageous witch-hunt court case in New York. And, after the stolen 2020 election, I took on the Biden Administration every chance I got, and won. If you want to know what kind of Senator I’ll be, just look at my record as Attorney General.”
Marshall currently has over $500,000 on hand for his Senate campaign, according to federal campaign finance reports, and has spent just over a quarter of a million. Moore has a very similar amount on hand, but has spent over $300,000.
