Strange Won’t Say If He Will Support Moore, Avoids Reporters’ Questions at Election Night Event

HOMEWOOD, Alabama – Most attendees at Sen. Luther Strange’s election night event knew what was coming in the early going.

There was very little buzz when the major media outlets called Tuesday’s U.S. Senate special election GOP primary runoff for Strange’s opponent, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

And shortly after 8:30 p.m. local time, Strange came down from his second-floor perch at the Aloft Hotel to address those in attendance.

Strange thanked his supporter and President Donald Trump, who had campaigned for Strange days earlier in Huntsville, AL. Strange said that although some may try to tie Trump to his loss, the blame was on him.

“If this causes him any trouble, it’s not his fault,” Strange said. “The fault always lies in the candidate or the head coach or the guy holding the ball.”

Following his speech, Strange evaded reporters’ questions, one of which was whether or not he would support Moore in his upcoming election against Democratic nominee Doug Jones set for December 12.

Strange campaign spokesman Cameron Foster told reporters Strange was only going to offer a statement to the media.

Strange campaign statement as follows:

From the beginning of this campaign, my priority has been serving the people of Alabama. Tomorrow I will go back to work with President Trump and do all I can to advance his agenda over the next few weeks. Melissa and I appreciate the many devoted friends and family who have supported us over the past months, the many Alabamians who have given us a warm welcome in every corner of the state, and the brigade of volunteers who left it all out on the field in this campaign. I am especially grateful for the support of President Trump and Vice President Pence, as well as the strong example set by my friends Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions. I congratulate Roy Moore on the result this evening. May God be with him and may God continue to bless Alabama and the United States of America.

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor