MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Morgan Murphy is dropping out of the race to become Alabama’s next senator, his campaign announced Monday.
The exit comes after President Donald Trump endorsed Murphy’s opponent U.S. Rep. Barry Moore in January. Murphy said in a video announcing his decision that “Republicans don’t need to waste time or money fighting one another.” He also said Trump “deserves the senator he wants in Washington, D.C.”
The former Trump administration official and national security advisor to Sen. Tommy Tuberville entered the race in September and raised more than $1 million in his bid.
Murphy endorsed Moore in the video and said he will now focus on flipping one of Alabama’s U.S. House seats, but did not say which. Candidate qualifying for the 2026 elections ended in January.
“I plan to flip a blue House seat right here in ruby-red Alabama,” Morgan said in a press release. “The United States cannot afford to lose the House and spend the next two years of President Trump’s administration battling radicals on the left who care more about nursing their Trump Derangement Syndrome than they do about the country or our state.”
The only two House seats held by Democrats are District 2, represented by Rep. Shomari Figures, and District 7, represented by Rep. Terri Sewell.
Murphy’s exit opens things up in the Republican primary for the seat. Attorney General Steve Marshall, former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, businessman Rodney Walker, Navy veteran Seth Burton and cardiac surgeon Dale Shelton Deas Jr. will join Moore in the primary.
Democrats Dakarai Larriett, Lamont Lavender, Kyle Sweetser, Everett Wess and Mark Wheeler are also running for U.S. Senate in Alabama.
The primary is May 19.