PHOTO: Representative Barry Moore just announced he's challenging Congresswoman Martha Roby at the Republican Women of Coffee County Meeting in Enterprise, Ala. (Barry Moore, Facebook | "Martha Roby" Wikipedia.org)
By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor
ENTERPRISE, Ala. — Representative Barry Moore (R - Enterprise) announced moments ago that he's running in the Republican primary against Congresswoman Martha Roby for the District 2 Congressional seat. The announcement came at a meeting of the Republican Women of Coffee County at the Enterprise Country Club in Moore's hometown.
Moore told the crowd, "You guys were with me when I first announced in 2009. This group of guys and gals is my hometown crowd."
"So today, I want you to hear it first from me: I'm running for Congress," stated Moore.
Moore was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2010. He's a 1992 graduate of Auburn University and is the owner of Barry Moore Industries, a waste hauling company. He and his wife, Heather, have four children; Jeremy, Kathleen, Claudia, and Jeb.
In the current session, Moore has sponsored a bill, HB 558, which seeks to eliminate the Common Core Curriculum Standards, and implement the "Alabama Traditional Education Standards," which would replace the federally-mandated standards. Moore serves a member of the Commerce and Small Business Committee and Education Policy Committee, as well as the Chair of the Military and Veteran's Affairs committee.
Moore was arrested in 2014 for alleged perjury and giving false statements to a grand jury regarding statehouse corruption, but a Lee County jury found him "not guilty" on the charges. During the 2016 Presidential Elections, Moore was an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump.
Congresswoman Martha Roby was first elected to the U.S. House in 2010, in the same election Moore was also first elected. Roby drew criticism from Republicans after denouncing Trump's "sexually aggressive comments" during the campaign. Since taking office, however, Trump has even endorsed Roby on her efforts to pass a bill a "Family Comp Time" bill.
Will Moore's past ties to Hubbard be too much to overcome to achieve higher office? Or will Roby's past denunciation of the current president (who overwhelming won in Alabama) still be fresh in Republican voter's minds? Either way, this race should be interesting.
