MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama Sen. Luther Strange and challenger Roy Moore on Wednesday engaged in a bitter war of words over a canceled debate, but have tentatively agreed to face off on stage later this month.
The two Republicans running for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ former U.S. Senate seat traded accusations after Moore withdrew from a debate hosted by a conservative think tank, the Alabama Policy Institute.
Moore said he withdrew because API’s president also serves as treasurer of the Senate Leadership Fund, a group backing Strange that has run attack ads against Moore. Moore said the debate “felt too much like a pre-set political trick organized by the Strange campaign.”
The Strange campaign then accused Moore of ducking a debate. “What is Roy Moore afraid of? What is Roy Moore hiding?” Strange campaign spokesman Cameron Foster said in a statement.
In this Aug. 15, 2017, file photo, former Alabama Chief Justice and U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore speaks to supporters in Montgomery, Ala. Alabama Sen. Luther Strange on Tuesday, Aug. 29, launched his first salvo against challenger Roy Moore in the contentious Senate race, calling Moore a hypocrite “who has spent 40 years putting himself and his ambition ahead of Alabamians.” (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)Moore then challenged Strange to meet him in a “Lincoln-Douglas style” debate to present issues without a moderator or questions from the news media.