Barry Moore advances to Alabama Senate runoff after Trump endorsement

Barry Moore’s first-place finish in Alabama’s Republican Senate primary put a sharper question on the state’s post-Tuberville politics than the usual horse race: whether the party is elevating a Trump-aligned ideological brand, a military outsider, or the credibility of statewide office.

With 69% of votes counted, Moore held 40.1% in the May 19 primary, short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Steve Marshall followed with 24.8% and Jared Hudson with 24.2%, sending the race to a June 16 head-to-head contest for the chance to replace Senator Tommy Tuberville. The six-candidate field also included Rodney Walker, Seth Burton, Morgan Murphy and Dale Shelton Deas Jr.

Moore’s advantage reflected the force of Donald Trump’s endorsement. Trump backed Moore on Jan. 17 and repeated that support on the eve of the primary, calling him an “America First Patriot” and saying Moore had his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to be Alabama’s next U.S. senator. In a state Trump carried by 30 points in 2024, that stamp of approval carried obvious weight, and Moore’s showing suggested that Republican voters were still rewarding fidelity to Trump’s political identity more than any single officeholder’s resume.

Marshall brought the clearest institutional record to the field. He was first appointed attorney general in 2017, won a full term in 2018 and was reelected in 2022, giving him the kind of statewide name recognition and governing experience that often matter in Alabama Republican primaries. Hudson offered a different appeal, running as a former Navy SEAL and tapping the military-style outsider image that has become durable in deep-red politics. Moore, first elected to Congress in 2020, sat somewhere between the two, a Washington incumbent with a populist profile and Trump’s explicit blessing.

The broader stakes are straightforward. Tuberville is leaving the Senate race to run for governor, opening the Class II seat he first won in 2021. The filing deadline passed on Jan. 23, and the general-election winner will be heavily favored in November, keeping the seat in Republican hands unless the party fractures in an unexpected way.

That is why the runoff matters beyond Alabama. In a cycle also shaped by redistricting fights and special House primaries set for Aug. 11 in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts, the Senate contest is turning into a test of what now wins in the state GOP: loyalty to Trump, credibility inside the statehouse, or the politics of the uniformed outsider.