The Alabama Senate race, which concludes with voting on December 12, is getting crazier as the days dwindle. The national Republican Party has withdrawn support for embattled Republican candidate Roy Moore, but President Trump has continued backing Moore without using his name. As if that wasn’t enough to chew on, another Republican candidate is tossing his name in the ring as an alternate to Roy Moore, and Democrat Doug Jones. Many Alabama Republicans don’t like Moore, but they don’t want to vote for a pro-choice Democrat, either. Perhaps their answer is retired Marine Col. Lee Busby, as a write-in.
The Daily Beast reports on Busby’s entrance to the race:
Busby told The Daily Beast on Monday he is launching his long-shot bid to stop Republican nominee Roy Moore from reaching the Senate.
“I have no idea if the allegations against him true or not, but I don’t see anything within his experience as a judge that qualifies him for the job.”
Busby said his state needs a choice other than Moore or Democrat Doug Jones.
“Alabama is not happy with the two choices we have down here. They are not appealing.”
Busby said he spent 31 years in the Marine Corps and on his last tour of duty was vice chief of staff to then-Gen. John Kelly, who is now White House chief of staff.
Since retiring, Busby has been the CEO of his own business and worked as a defense consultant and investment banker. At the same time, Busby has been honoring fallen Marines with sculptures like the one he was working on in his garage prior to his Senate announcement.
Busby stands almost zero chance of winning the race, but his entrance could help tip the race toward Democrat Doug Jones if enough Republicans peel away from Moore. There is a working campaign site for Busby, which contains instructions on how to write-in his name on the Alabama ballot.
RealClearPolitics has the race pegged as a toss-up right now, with a slight advantage for Jones.
If Busby gained any kind of traction, and it wouldn’t take much, even a couple percent of the vote, it might push the race away from Moore. This, of course, depends on how accurate the recent polls are which show the race narrowing considerably.
On Sunday, President Trump tweeted in opposition to Doug Jones, though it was largely taken as an endorsement of Moore:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/934781939088629761
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/934792302341521408
This one will come down to the wire with just fourteen days to go.
