Alabama voters elected conservative firebrand Roy Moore as the Republican nominee to fill a U.S. Senate seat, media reports said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump and other party leaders who had argued that rival Luther Strange was a better bet to advance their priorities in Washington.
Moore, 70, is best known for losing his position as the state's top judge twice, once for refusing a court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the courthouse and a second time for defying the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage.
He will be favored in the December election against Democratic nominee Doug Jones.
A group that put millions of dollars behind Strange in Alabama's Senate race says it will now back Moore.
Senate Leadership Fund President and CEO Steven Law said Tuesday that Moore won the nomination "fair and square."
Law says Moore "has our support, as it is vital that we keep this seat in Republican hands."
The group, which has ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, put millions of dollars behind Strange in the heated GOP primary with Moore.
Moore is the state's former chief justice who was twice removed from his duties for defying federal courts over same-sex marriage and the public display of the Ten Commandments.
Propelled by evangelical voters, Moore consolidated support from a number of anti-establishment forces, including former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.