Alabama Senate candidate arrives on horseback to cast vote

Roy Moore, the front-runner in Tuesday’s Alabama Republican Senate primary, arrived at the polls on horseback to cast his vote.

It’s a personal tradition for the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, who rode atop a brown and white horse. He was accompanied by his wife, Kayla, riding close behind.

After he dismounted his horse at the polling station at a local fire department in Gallant, Ala., Moore spoke to reporters. 

“We look forward to registering our vote to make this country great again, make it good again,” Moore told reporters, according to footage posted by AL.com, referencing President Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.” 

{mosads}He also hit one of his opponents, Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), who has the backing of top Washington Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). A McConnell-allied super PAC has spent heavily during the primary campaign on Strange’s behalf. 

“We are looking forward to voting, and I hope we have big turnout today, because I know there is a lot of motivation out there to change Washington,” Moore said. 

“I appreciate the people understanding it’s not the money from Washington that will buy this election, it’s the people of Alabama that are going to vote in this election.”

Moore told reporters that he rides a horse to the polls every year and noted he rode a horse to vote before he won his 2012 election as chief justice.

“We enjoy, after a long election, getting out and doing something together,” Moore said about spending time with his wife.

“I’ve ridden thousands of miles in a car. I figured I could ride a few miles on a horse.” 

Moore comes into the primary as the front-runner, having led in virtually all pre-election polls.

But Strange’s allies have hammered both Moore and Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks ahead of the primary in the hopes of forcing a runoff. 

If no candidate reaches the majority support threshold on Tuesday, the top two candidates will move to a runoff, the most likely outcome with a crowded field. The general election will be held in December.