MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), a top conservative and former judge before he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, is in the house here in Montgomery’s RSA Activity Center for the debate between conservative Judge Roy Moore and establishment-backed Luther Strange for the GOP primary runoff for the U.S. Senate on Thursday evening.
The runoff is on Tuesday, Sept. 26, but Gohmert is here for the only televised debate between Moore and Strange—and Gohmert is supporting Moore.
“No he cannot [be bought or sold],” Gohmert said of Moore in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News before the debate began. “He absolutely cannot.”
Gohmert said this election, for the people of Alabama, offers an opportunity to have a senator who represents them rather than special interests in Washington, D.C. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, through his affiliated PAC Senate Leadership Fund and other establishment organizations like the NRA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has pumped millions upon millions of dollars into Alabama behind Strange to prop up the lagging candidate’s campaign.
“This is an incredibly important election,” Gohmert told Breitbart News. “This is going to be the decision as to whether Alabama is represented or Mitch McConnell is represented. That’s what’s being decided here. McConnell has spent what, $12 million or so so far?”
When Breitbart News told him it is around $15 million that the swamp in Washington, D.C., has funneled into Alabama to back Strange, Gohmert was shocked: “Oh is it that high? $15 million? Oh my word.”
“Alabama hasn’t spent $15 million on anybody so it’s pretty clear,” Gohmert said. “The Scripture talks about where your money is there is your heart. We know where the other money is coming from, but we also know that Roy Moore has shown over and over that you may disagree with him but he does what he says.”
Like Moore, who was previously the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Gohmert is a former judge.
“I was a judge, and in fact I met him—he had come to Texas to speak at an event years ago back when I was a judge,” Gohmert told Breitbart News. “I had already read about him, heard about him, so I was extremely pleased to meet him. He and I had both made international news and had grievances filed against us—and so we had things we could commiserate about, and by the way mine were dismissed because they were completely bogus, but anyway I just have ultimate respect for the man.”
Gohmert said that while he understands that President Donald Trump is supporting the other guy—Strange—and is still a “huge” Trump “fan,” he thinks Trump is wrong about this one. He added that Moore will be much better for the Trump agenda in the U.S. Senate than Strange ever could be.
“You know I’m a huge Donald Trump fan,” Gohmert said. “I literally—I’m not kidding—I literally thank God Donald Trump got elected and thank God he’s there. But, he’s human, and just as he went out and endorsed John McCain thinking that would reap benefits down the road, I think the people of Alabama are going to know who would best help Donald Trump. And they know, it sure sounds like they know, that will be Roy Moore. He will be the biggest help that Donald Trump and the people of Alabama could hope for.”
When asked directly if Moore is better for the Trump agenda than Strange, Gohmert said clearly: “Yes.”
The reason why, he said, is because Moore cannot be bought off like Strange.
“The thing I know about Roy Moore is if Mitch McConnell had spent $15 million to get Roy Moore elected, it wouldn’t have affected him and his conscience,” Gohmert said. “That’s a big difference. He would still be standing just as firmly on the same convictions he has.”
Gohmert predicted that Moore will be successful on Tuesday because he has defeated establishment-backed forces before. In fact, back in the 2000s, establishment consultant Karl Rove tried to come into Alabama with big money to topple Moore in his race for the Alabama Supreme Court—but Rove failed, and Moore succeeded with little to no money. This go around, the vehemently anti-Trump Rove has sent his ex-chief of staff Kristin Davison to work for the Strange campaign, something the president considers an insult per multiple White House aides. Davison is overtly anti-Trump. But not only that, Rove’s longtime partner Steven Law is running the McConnell-affiliated Senate Leadership Fund. Gohmert, however, told Breitbart News he thinks the people of Alabama will again reject the failed worldview of Rove and support conservative Moore against it once more.
“That is another indication of what will be best for the country,” Gohmert told Breitbart News. “When you see Karl Rove come down to Alabama and vote for this person and it’s a good bet, you probably ought to vote for the other person.”