UPDATE: Moore clinches GOP Senate nomination in special primary runoff

UPDATE: Roy Moore, the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, beat out Senator Luther Strange, in Alabama’s special primary runoff on Tuesday.

According to WIAT, Moore maintained an early lead, and the Associated Press called the race around 8:40 PM.

PREVIOUSLY: Roy Moore came out gun ablazin’ for his final rally before today’s election, while “Big” Luther Strange called himself the “true conservative” on the radio this morning. The heat is on.

Today is the day, Alabama Republicans. Voting polls are now open.

Last night Moore expressed his support for the second amendment to a crowd of supporters at a rally in Daphne. He said that all the negative ads about him have not been easy to stomach financially or combat publicly.

“This has been very hard for my wife and for myself,” Moore said. “We’ve had two or three months of negative ads that we couldn’t answer with money because we didn’t have any.”

“Ads that were completely false–that I don’t believe in the Second Amendment,” he said, reaching to his hip …”

Senator Luther Strange took to the radio this morning after voting. In his final plea, Strange spoke to WERC and told them he was the “true conservative” in the race for the GOP nomination for Senate.

Polls Now Open

Here’s what you need to know about voting in the Alabama special election Senate primary runoff:

• First things first. Who can head to the polls today? Alabama Republicans only! And, previous-non-but-registered voters may also vote! If you voted in the primary as a Republican, you may vote today.
• Polls in Alabama opened today at 7 AM and polls will close at 7 PM.
• There is only one race on the ballot: the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
• Follow this link to find your polling location.

What’s With All The Fanfare?

No doubt, the race between Luther Strange and Roy Moore remains a heated one among the GOP.

President Trump and VP Pence have rallied for Strange, while former White House Strategist and Breitbart News Executive Steve Bannon stumped for Moore. VICE News reports that Trump is “fighting for the soul of the GOP” with the this race.

Another point to consider: polls show Moore is more popular with voters, according to The Washington Post.

Ex-Gov. Robert Bentley appointed Strange to the Senate in February after President Trump named Senator Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General. Strange served as Alabama’s former Attorney General before being appointed to the post.

Moore served as Alabama’s former chief justice, but he resigned his post after being suspended for defying a Supreme Court order on same-sex marriage. All things considered, the people of Alabama view him a viable candidate and the popular pick, according to those recent polls.

Stay Tuned

After all is said and done, I’ll update this post with results after the polls close. We’ll know tonight who will face Doug Jones in the Senate special election in December.