WASHINGTON — A new Club for Growth PAC poll shows that Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, leads the Republican field by five points in the race for Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat.
According to the poll commissioned for the super PAC that endorsed Moore, the congressman received 31% of the vote, followed by current Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall with 26% and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson at 13%.
The three other GOP candidates — Seth Burton, Dale Shelton Deas Jr. and Rodney Walker — combined received 9% of the vote. And 21% of those polled remain undecided. The candidates are running to replace Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who is running for governor.
The poll surveyed 501 likely Republican primary voters in Alabama and was conducted between March 16-19.
The Alabama Freedom Fund, which is affiliated with the Club for Growth PAC, also launched a $1.25 million ad buy for Moore Wednesday. The ads will air across TV, streaming, and radio in the Birmingham and Huntsville markets.
One ad highlights President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Moore, calling him “completely and totally MAGA.”
“Barry’s never stopped fighting for Trump’s agenda,” the ad states. “As senator, he’ll fight even harder.”
The poll also showed that out of the surveyed voters, 31% were aware of Trump’s endorsement in the Senate race, while 69% were unaware. The group makes the case that as more Alabama Republican voters learn that fact, they will be swayed to support Moore in the primary.
Another ad targets Marshall for his history as a Democrat. He switched to the Republican Party in 2011, while serving as Marshall County district attorney. It also goes after the attorney general, calling him a “soft-on-crime prosecutor” and highlighting some of his rulings in previous crime cases in the state.
Marshall’s campaign rebuffed the super PAC’s support of Moore, arguing the group is “trying to buy this race, but the people of Alabama aren’t buying what they’re selling.”
“It’s no surprise Barry Moore and out of state special interest groups are coming after me,” Marshall said in a statement to Alabama Daily News.
“I said at the start of this campaign I have made a lot of Washington insiders mad because of my work against DEI, illegal immigrants and greedy corporations, and now we’re seeing how much they don’t want me in DC with an ad full of lies,” he added.
Marshall said his focus in the campaign is on “cutting the cost of living, securing our borders and elections, and defeating the radical left’s woke agenda.”
In the 2022 election for Alabama’s Senate seat, the Club for Growth PAC endorsed former Rep. Mo Brooks in the race and spent millions attacking Katie Britt. But Britt went on to win that election – a fact that Marshall’s campaign also highlighted to ADN.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., announced their endorsement of Moore in the race.
The primary is May 19.
The story has been updated to include the correct amount for the ad buy.