Palin backs Roy Moore in Alabama Senate race

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Roy Moore on Thursday, giving a boost to the Republican in the Alabama GOP Senate primary runoff.

“Glad he’s running and am honored to endorse Judge Roy Moore for the US Senate,” Palin said in a statement. “Judge Moore has shown he has what it takes to stand up to the out-of-touch political establishment.”

“The Judge has proven he’s not afraid of a fight for what is right, and he’s ready to take on DC’s swamp monsters and make America great again. We need more bold leaders like Judge Moore who will fight for all of us in the US senate,” Palin said.

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Moore was suspended last year as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court after ordering lower court judges to continue enforcing the state’s ban on same-sex marriage after it had been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Moore currently holds an 18-point lead in the state’s GOP primary runoff election to fill the seat vacated when Jeff Sessions joined the Trump administration as attorney general.

The judge has led in polls despite President Trump endorsing his GOP opponent Luther Strange, the incumbent senator who was appointed to the seat after Sessions left. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is also backing Strange.

Moore also served as chief justice on the Alabama Supreme Court from 2001 to 2003, before he was ousted for refusing to have a statue he commissioned of the Ten Commandments removed from in front of the Alabama Judicial Building, against a federal court order.