President Donald Trump congratulated former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore on Tuesday after his Republican runoff victory over incumbent Sen. Luther Strange for the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Trump, who campaigned for Strange on Friday in Huntsville, took to Twitter:
Moore, who was endorsed by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, will face Democrat Doug Jones in the Dec. 12 general special election.
In his victory speech, Moore said that even though Trump backed his opponent, he would support the president's agenda.
"Don't let anybody in the press make you believe that just because the president endorsed my opponent, I don't support him," Moore said, surrounded by his wife and family.
"As long as it's constitutional — as long as it advances our Constitution, advances our culture, I will support it," he added. "We have to return the Constitution and God to the Congress."
Moore also thanked Strange for running a "good race" and praised God for his victory, quoting portions of Isaiah 40 from the Old Testament.
"There is so much strife … , but we are all connected by God."
In his concession speech, Strange, who was appointed in February by former Gov. Robert Bentley to fill Sessions' seat after Trump named him attorney general, also quoted from the Old Testament, Proverbs 19:21.
"I truly believe that," Strange said, flanked by his wife and family. "I take it to heart every day."
In a statement he released shortly before his speech, Strange said that "from the beginning of this campaign, my priority has been serving the people of Alabama.
"Tomorrow, I will go back to work with President Trump and do all I can to advance his agenda over the next few weeks.
"I congratulate Roy Moore on the result this evening," Strange said.
Jones, who won the Democratic primary in August, said after Strange's speech that "we look forward to this race."
As U.S. attorney, Jones prosecuted the two surviving Ku Klux Klan members involved in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham that killed four young African-American girls.
"The state of Alabama needs people who will lead with integrity, who will uphold the rule of law," he said.
"This is going to be a race that we are going to win," Jones added. "We are excited."
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