Former Alabama Chief Justice and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore waits to speak at a press conference, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Roy Moore is back. He’s declared himself a candidate for the 2020 Republican Senate primary in Alabama for reasons only known to himself.

Moore was, of course, savaged in 2017 after forty-year-old allegations that he dated underage girls surfaced. Most of the allegations were more creepy than illegal (i.e. it’s not illegal for a 30-year-old to date a 17-year-old) but one involving a 14-year-old ended up being the biggest factor in his downfall. There was a later accusation of sexual assault that appeared at the behest of grifter lawyer Gloria Allred, but that one was best left out of the equation.

With Moore back on the scene, some conservatives lashed out at him for putting a solidly red seat in jeopardy once again. Those included the President’s son.

You mean like last time? You’re literally the only candidate who could lose a GOP seat in pro-Trump, pro-USA ALABAMA. Running for office should never become a business model. If you actually care about #MAGA more than your own ego, it's time to ride off into the sunset, Judge. https://t.co/Twg9isFRkY

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 28, 2019

Now, we’ve got our first polling of the primary race and here’s how Moore is faring.

AL SEN GOP primary poll (Cygnal): Tommy Tuberville 29, Bradley Byrne 21, Roy Moore 13, John Merrill 12, Arnold Mooney 2 – https://t.co/QHUEYsm72j

— Reid Wilson (@PoliticsReid) June 26, 2019

Moore is clocking in a distant 3rd with coaching legend Tommy Tuberville at the top. Needless to say, if Tuberville gets the nomination, he’s going to walk away from Doug Jones and win.

Bradly Byrne, a current Congressional Representative, will probably get a lot of establishment support. Arnold Mooney is currently a fringe candidate but has picked up some high profile endorsements from people like Mark Levin. The key here is that Mitch McConnell needs to not try to pick a winner by destroying other viable, conservative candidates. Stay out of it and you won’t end up with a Strange vs. Moore scenario again.

Here’s my opinion on this. Roy Moore is a clownish figure who constantly steps on his own feet and he has no business being the nominee at this point. While he may have done some good things as a judge in past decades, this Senate seat is not about him and he’s not entitled to it. The point is to win the election, not to make sure Roy Moore is given a chance at vengeance.

Alabama will have to decide for themselves, but with a tough Senate map in 2020, every seat counts. That means losing a Republican seat in deep red Alabama is simply not an option. For the moment, it looks like Alabama voters aren’t game for a do-over with Roy Moore and that’s probably a smart decision.

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