“Never-Trump” Alabama Senate “write-in” candidate Lee Busby attended a fundraiser for liberal Democrat candidate Doug Jones.
Busby, a retired Marine colonel and former aide to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, announced on Monday that he will launch a last-minute write-in campaign against Republican nominee Alabama Judge Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones.
Busby admitted that he attended a fundraiser for Doug Jones and even voted for Ohio governor and infamous public eater John Kasich in 2016 Republican presidential primary.
Lee Busby argued that the allegations of sexual misconduct against Roy Moore created an opening for an establishment, centrist candidate to launch a third-party run for the December 12 Alabama Senate race.
Busby said, “I think you can flip this thing. If this were a military operation, the left flank and the right flank are heavily guarded. I think that gives you an opportunity to run straight up the middle.”
Busby’s write-in campaign mirrors Evan McMullin’s third party bid in the 2016 presidential election. McMullin, nicknamed “McMuffin” by Trump supporters, admitted during the presidential election that if he could not stop Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump from being elected president, he would be “happy” just stopping Trump from becoming the 45th president.
McMullin, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations officer and Goldman Sachs employee, announced a “Never-Trump” candidacy to upset the election in favor of Hillary Clinton by appealing to Mormon voters in Utah, Arizona, and Idaho. His establishment insurgency failed to win any electoral votes and failed to win Utah, which features a strong Mormon voting base.
Bubsy has no campaign website or any serious campaign ground game. The former aide to John Kelly hopes to rely on social media to spread the word about his campaign. Identifying himself as an independent candidate, Bubsy, who retired from the Marine Corps in 2013, intends to emphasize his experience as a military leader, as well as his background as an investment banker, defense contractor, and entrepreneur.
The third-party candidate contends that both Moore and Jones should not serve in the U.S. Senate.
“I just don’t believe that either one of them are qualified to be in the U.S. Senate,” Busby argued.
He cites the sexual allegations against Moore as having “created enough distaste in my mind” to rule out support for the Republican nominee. He lists Democrat candidate Jones’ extreme abortion positions as disqualifying for Alabama voters.
A Raycom News Network survey found that only three percent of Alabamians plan to vote for a write-in candidate for the Alabama Senate race.
A recent poll revealed that Roy Moore has a seven-point lead over Jones.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) launched a war against Roy Moore after Moore won the Alabama Republican primary runoff election to replace then-Sen. Jeff Sessions’ (R-AL). McConnell called for Moore to resign in the wake of the accusations that Moore made inappropriate advances towards multiple teenage girls.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), an establishment Republican, said on Sunday, “It would be better for the country’ if Moore stepped aside.
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel argued that Alabama voters will be the “judge and jury” of Roy Moore –compared to McConnell, Speaker Paul Ryan, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who all have called on Moore to drop out of the race.
ABC’s Cokie Roberts said that with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, “It is going to be very hard to defeat” Roy Moore.
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