He's Back... Roy Moore Threatens to Run for Senate Again

Roy Moore, who lost a U.S. Senate race in 2017 after nine women accused him of either sexual assault, pedophilia, or pursuing them sexually when they were teens and he was an adult, wants a rematch.

Moore told American Family Radio he's "seriously considering" running against Democrat Doug Jones next year, reports The Washington Post. Jones, a former civil rights attorney, prevailed in the Senate seat vacated after Jeff Sessions left to become Donald Trump's attorney general. Jones's victory meant a Democrat represented Alabama in the Senate for the first time in decades; it also meant a homophobe and transphobe wasn't representing the state for the first time.

Moore has made a career demonizing LGBTQ people and pushing Christian supremacy. As the chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court, Moore was removed from the bench in 2003 after refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the judicial building. He was later reelected chief justice and suspended when he told Alabama officials to refuse marriage certificates to same-sex couples; he left office in 2017, a few months before running for Sessions's Senate seat.

A report from the Post in January showed online tactics, similar to those used against Hillary Clinton in 2016, were utilized against Moore, though it was Americans, not Russians, creating a disinformation campaign against him. Moore said the report contributed to his decision to consider running in 2020, but the Post points out other factors likely contributed to Moore's defeat. Specifically, nine women came forward during the Senate election to describe predatory behavior by Moore, including accusations of sexual assault and pedophilia.

Moore, short of money, later blamed LGBTQ people and Hillary Clinton for his misfortunes.