BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Roy Moore has ignored all the rules of modern-day politics.
But on the ground in Alabama, some believe the Republican Senate candidate is poised to win the state’s special election on Tuesday in a race that features extraordinary parallels with President Donald Trump’s White House run one year ago.
Against all odds, Moore has so far weathered sexual misconduct allegations while applying the same unorthodox playbook that many political operatives said wouldn’t work for anyone but Trump.
Like Trump, Moore speaks unscripted. He skimps on fundraising. He undervalues get-out-the-vote efforts. And he attacks the leaders of his own political party without mercy.
Political observers say each man has been successful, at least in part, by converting their shortcomings into political strength as an anti-establishment fervor swept through the electorate.