Senate candidate from Missouri rallies for Roy Moore in Alabama

One of the Republicans vying to challenge U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill next year spoke at a rally for Alabama candidate Roy Moore Monday night.

Courtland Sykes, a Navy veteran who recently moved to Independence, joined former White House strategist Steve Bannon and others at a rally for Moore, a former judge who faces multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls. Alabama voters will choose between GOP nominee Moore and Democrat Doug Jones in Tuesday’s special election for the U.S. Senate.

“Let them hear you in the swamp, Alabama!” shouted Sykes, who has previously produced a documentary defending Moore.

“They want to know if Alabama can be bought by Mitch McConnell. They want to know if Alabama can be fooled by the fake media,” he told the crowd of Moore supporters.

Sykes, a newcomer to politics and Missouri, launched a campaign in September with a video that echoed President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on immigration and other issues.

Both of Missouri’s current senators, McCaskill, a Democrat, and Roy Blunt, a Republican, have criticized Moore. Blunt said last month that the women accusing Moore of sexual misconduct are more credible than the candidate.

One of Missouri’s major GOP donors, David Humphreys, a Joplin businessman, gave $2,700 to Jones in the Alabama race. Humphreys explained his decision to back the Democrat in a short statement.

“It is worth losing a dependable vote (in either party) to avoid having to defend a politically pragmatic but ultimately indefensible choice that will create an image problem for conservatives for the next several years,” Humphreys said.

Humphreys helped recruit Attorney General Josh Hawley as a candidate for Missouri’s 2018 Senate race. Hawley has expressed concerns about Moore in the past, but he’s faced criticism from Democrats for being too quiet on the issue in the wake of Trump’s decision to back Moore in the Alabama race.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Senate candidate from Missouri rallies for Roy Moore in Alabama."