Wednesday on MSNBC, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) said he was going to “support the party” and back former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, the GOP nominee for a special election for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Jeff Sessions slated for December 12.
Efforts made by Breitbart News to contact Shelby’s office on Tuesday to determine if Shelby would formally endorse Moore have gone unanswered. However, Shelby told MSNBC’s Katy Tur he would support the nominee.
Partial transcript as follows:
TUR: Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon is backing Roy Moore in your state. He won his primary against Luther Strange. Do you believe he is fit to serve alongside you in the Senate?
SHELBY: Well, that’s up to the people of Alabama. I believe Roy Moore, I’ve known him a long time. He is the nominee of the Republican Party. He won it on the battlefield. I’m going to is support the winner, and that’s Roy Moore.
TUR: That’s not exactly praise, Senator.
SHELBY: What now?
TUR: That’s not exactly praise from you.
SHELBY: I’m just saying to you that I am going to support the party and the nominee, who happens to be Roy Moore. And we hope he’ll get to the Senate and work he’ll positively with the rest of the senators and the president.
Shelby backed Moore’s opponent Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL) in the GOP primary and runoff elections held earlier this year. Strange, who was appointed by now-former Gov. Robert Bentley (R-AL) after Sessions was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be attorney general, was defeated by Moore in the GOP runoff election.
Moore faces Democratic Party nominee former Clinton U.S. Attorney Doug Jones in the December special election.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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