Donald Trump has made a final push to avoid a humiliating defeat in the Alabama senate contest, where latest polls suggest the candidate he is backing is trailing by up to 11 points.

As voting centres opened across the state for voters to cast their choice for the Republican candidate for the US senate, Mr Trump posted two early morning tweets, urging people to get behind the man has endorsed, Luther Strange.

‘Luther Strange has been shooting up in the Alabama polls since my endorsement. Finish the job - vote today for ‘Big Luther’,” he said.

A few hours later, he added: “Alabama get out and vote for Luther Strange - he has proven to me that he will never let you down! #MAGA.”

Yet Mr Strange faces a very tough task. An aggregate of polls collated by Real Clear Politics suggest he is trailing his opponent, retired judge Roy Moore, by 11 points.

Mr Strange held an eve of election rally in Birmingham in the company of Vice President Mike Pence, who went out of his way to stress the candidate’s conservative bona fides.

“Luther Strange is a real conservative. He’s a leader and a real friend to President Trump. I got to tell you, Big Luther has been making a big difference in Washington,” said Mr Pence, according to the Associated Press.

Man who linked arms with Martin Luther King on Selma bridge: Trump should accept Christ

Mr Srange said: “Tomorrow, there’s a lot on the line. For the Vice President and the President and of the United States to come here on my behalf means more than I can possibly say.”

Mr Moore faces a fired-up insurgent challenge from a candidate who has sought to portray him as someone who will become a Washington insider rather than working for the people who elected him. He has received the support of Mr Trump’s ousted strategic adviser Steve Bannon, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Chuck Norris, Nigel Farage and Rush Limbaugh, among others.

At a rally for Mr Moore at a farm outside of Mobile in the south of Alabama, many people who voted for Mr Trump said they were disappointed he was supporting Mr Strange rather than the judge.

Debbie Giles, said she she did not think Mr Strange would stand up for the issues that were important to her - primarily the freedom of religion. “I think Mr Trump was wrong this time,” she said. “He needs to pay attention to the people who elected him.”

Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Show all 22 1 /22 Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump talk as they leave the Army Museum at Les Invalides in Paris AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump arrive for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily in May 2017 Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Mr Trump was pressed on the subject at the G7 summit in Italy Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump gives a speeech at the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a ceremony at the NATO headquarters before the start of a summit in Brussels, Belgium Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is seen to the right of Donald Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels REUTERS Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis meeting with US President Donald J. Trump EPA Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis poses with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump arrives at Palazzo del Quirinale ahead of the meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella Ufficio Stampa Presidenza della via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is seen during a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets US President Donald Trump PPO via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump prior to the President's departure GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump watch on during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips King Salman presents Donald Trump with The Collar of Abdulaziz al-Saud Medal at the Royal Court Palace on 20 May AP Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn prior to their first foreign trip Getty Images

Mr Bannon has said his support for Mr Moore is the first of what he hopes will be a number of anti-establishment candidates he wants to back during the 2018 midterms in a challenge to Republican leaders such as Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. He said he believed electing Mr Moore, known for his installation of a huge granite statue bearing the 10 Commandments and his opposition to same-sex marriage, would help the President.

“We did not come here to defy Donald Trump. We came here to praise and honour him,” he said, borrowing the words of Shakespeare.

“Judge Roy Moore is a good man. He’s a courageous man. Most importantly, he’s a righteous man.”

Mr Bannon claimed that a vote for Mr Moore was a vote for Mr Trump (Getty)

Mr Moore claimed Republicans in Washington cared little for the voters of Alabama.

“They think you’re fools - they have no interest in what you think,” he declared. “Tomorrow, you have a chance to show what you think of the elite who are running our country.”

British right wing political Nigel Farage, who was introduced as “Mr Brexit”, had flown in at the invitation of Mr Bannon.

“I have absolutely no hesitation in putting my support and my backing behind a man like judge Roy Moore, who has shown in his career that he will always put principle before his own career advancement,” he said.

Mr Moore took to the stage wearing a cowboy hat and leather vest. He sought to hit back at claims from Mr Strange’s campaign that he is somehow soft on gun rights. To do so, he pulled a handgun from his pocket.