Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the chairman of the influential House Freedom Caucus, on Wednesday endorsed Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate race, spurning the incumbent backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg's vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: 'The fate of our rights' depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE (R-Ky.) and President Trump.

Meadow's decision to back Moore over Sen. Luther Strange Luther Johnson StrangeSessions hits back at Trump days ahead of Alabama Senate runoff The biggest political upsets of the decade State 'certificate of need' laws need to go MORE (R-Ala.) gives the insurgent candidate one of his biggest endorsements yet ahead of the Sept. 26 GOP primary runoff.

In a statement announcing his decision, Meadows took a swipe at McConnell and his allied super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, which has spent millions on the airwaves to boost Strange.

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"The people of Alabama are seeing millions of dollars in false advertising flow into their state. From what I know about the people of Alabama, their vote is NOT for sale. They want a strong man — a principled conservative — to send a clear message to Washington, D.C. ... that his vote can't be bought either," Meadows said.

"I look forward to working with him to advance conservative principles by repealing ObamaCare, passing real tax reform and securing our borders."

Moore, a former chief justice on the Alabama Supreme Court, rose to national prominence by refusing to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments from state grounds and for declining to follow the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. While those clashes have won him supporters, they also explain why the Republican establishment is so concerned with him winning the seat.

McConnell pitched Washington Republicans for months to come together around Strange, who was appointed to the seat by then-Gov. Robert Bentley (R) in February. Strange filled the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsTrump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status White House officials voted by show of hands on 2018 family separations: report MORE, who is now Trump's attorney genera.

But while that appointment has given Strange the power of incumbency, his proximity to the disgraced Bentley, who later resigned after pleading guilty to charges relating to an alleged extramarital affair and its cover-up, has drawn criticism from his rivals.

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McConnell's push for Strange culminated in Trump endorsing Strange ahead of the initial Republican primary in August, sending tweets on his behalf and recording a robocall. But Trump has taken a more muted approach since Strange and Moore advanced into the primary runoff, leading to questions about whether the president will campaign on Strange's behalf.

Trump's public distance comes in a pivotal stretch in the race, with just weeks to go before the runoff election. Moore has led public polling from the start, but there's a wild variation in his margin in recent polls, stretching from double-digits to the low single digits.

The Senate Leadership Fund has come Strange's aid with a new round of television ads meant to chip away at Moore's favorability rating.

But a handful of conservatives, including former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon, have begun to rally around Moore as the anti-establishment pick. Politico reported late last month that Bannon has decided to back Moore in a rebuke of McConnell, who has tangled with Trump over the past few weeks.

Bannon and Meadows are known to be close and reportedly talk frequently.