CEO DATELINE - U.S. Chamber loses $1M gamble on Alabama senate race
CEO DATELINE - U.S. Chamber loses $1M gamble on Alabama senate race
- September 27, 2017 |
- Walt Williams
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent nearly $1 million backing Sen. Luther Strange in his bid to hold onto Alabama's open Senate seat only to watch former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore clinch the Republican nomination, according to figures gathered by the campaign finance watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics.
Strange was appointed to the Senate seat by former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley after Jeff Sessions resigned to become U.S. attorney general earlier this year. Moore challenged Strange for the GOP nomination in a Dec. 12 runoff election to determine who will serve the remainder of Sessions' term, which ends in 2021. Moore will face Democrat Doug Jones in the upcoming election.
The Chamber invested heavily in Strange, spending $965,650 in independent expenditures to aid the candidate. However, Moore's allies used the business group's support to attack Strange as being part of the political "establishment." Breitbart News—run by former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon—accused Strange of receiving aid from the "pro-amnesty" Chamber in a news story that ran a few days before the election. Bannon had endorsed Moore in the race.
The Chamber has had mixed luck with investments in other special elections held this year. The group spent more than $1.1 million supporting Rep. Karen Handel (R-Ga.) in her win over Democratic opponent Jon Ossaff. The business group also spent $250,000 aiding Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) to a victory. But the group spent $252,868 aiding Rep. Tommy Pope (R-S.C.), only to have the candidate lose to Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) in the GOP primary for an open House seat. http://bit.ly/2xyggRw
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