Alabama
Former Navy SEAL challenges Alabama’s Senate front-runners to debate: ‘No scripts. No handlers’
A Republican running to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate is calling for a debate with the two front-runners after President Donald Trump’s key endorsement of U.S. Rep. Barry Moore.
Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper who founded an organization to fight human trafficking, called out Moore and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Monday, requesting that they debate ahead of the May 19 primary.
“Let’s debate,” said Hudson, of Birmingham. “No scripts. No handlers. No dodging.”
Moore, in a statement, did not respond Hudson’s debate request. He said his campaign’s priority is to continue “delivering for Alabamians and uniting Republicans to advance President Trump’s America First agenda” while ensuring the Republicans win in December.
“Since announcing my run for the U.S. Senate, I have been fully focused on doing what I’ve always done – serving Alabamians and delivering real results on the issues that are impacting our state and nation,” Moore said.
Marshall’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hudson’s comment came in a news release in which he vowed to remain in the Senate contest despite Trump’s endorsement of Moore, which came Saturday via a social media post.
Hudson said the race for the Senate is about “putting Alabama First,” a play on Trump’s “America First” campaign pledge. Hudson said he’s the only candidate who can do that.
“I’m in this fight for the people of Alabama, and I’m not going anywhere,” Hudson said. “I ran toward the fight in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL sniper, and I’ll keep that same oath to the Constitution by stopping the radical Left from destroying our country from within.”
Hudson added, “My mission in the U.S. Senate is straightforward: deport criminal illegal immigrants, lower the cost of living, put Alabama First, and stand with President Trump to Make America Great Again.”
Trump shook up the Senate contest with the Moore endorsement, which elevates the 1st congressional district House member as an early favorite ahead of the primary election. Trump’s stamp of approval is important in Alabama ahead of a primary contest. The state is a Republican stronghold where most GOP candidates pledge loyalty to the president.
Moore has been with Trump since the beginning. He was among a few politicians who spoke at Trump’s first campaign rally at Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium in August 2015, long before other candidates would publicly endorse Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Moore received additional momentum with an endorsement from the Club for Growth, which has backed him in previous congressional campaigns.
Marshall, the state’s top law enforcement official, is also viewed as a strong primary candidate. He said on Sunday that he doesn’t plan to “back down.”
Hudson, along with Rodney Walker and Morgan Murphy are hoping to emerge as the breakout candidate in the contest, similar to the role Republican Mike Durant nearly played three years ago in the race eventually won by Sen. Katie Britt. Dr. Dale Shelton Deas Jr., a heart surgeon, is also qualified to run for the Senate seat.