Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) finished third in the first round of GOP balloting on Aug. 15. In the weeks since, Brooks said, he spoke with Roy Moore and Sen. Luther Strange about the possibility of an endorsement. | Getty Brooks to endorse Moore in Alabama Senate race

GOP Rep. Mo Brooks will endorse former judge Roy Moore on Saturday, providing him with a valuable boost with a little more than a week until a Sept. 26 Republican runoff for Alabama's vacant Senate seat.

Brooks, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told POLITICO that he would announce his support for Moore, a controversial former state Supreme Court justice, at an afternoon rally.


Polls show Moore with a substantial lead over Sen. Luther Strange in the race for a seat that had been held for two decades by now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"The Senate race comes down to this: we are in an epic battle between the people of Alabama who put America First and the Washington Swamp that hopes to buy Alabama’s Senate seat and put America second. All of America is watching Alabama to see who wins," Brooks said in a statement. "I can’t speak for anyone else, but, as for me, I stand with America. I have voted for Roy Moore because Roy Moore not only stands with America, he will fight for America! I urge you to join that fight."

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Moore finished first with 39 percent of the vote in the first round of GOP balloting on Aug. 15. Strange trailed with 33 percent, followed by Brooks with 20 percent. In the weeks since, Brooks said, he spoke with Moore and Strange about the possibility of an endorsement.

But Brooks made it clear that he had no desire to get behind Strange, who has had the full backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. A super PAC aligned with McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund, saturated the TV airwaves with ads castigating Brooks. Brooks charged that Strange and McConnell had engaged in "character assassination" against him.

"The Strange/ McConnell forces care not one twit about truth," said Brooks in his statement, "they freely use malicious lies in their non-stop, scorched earth, campaign of personal destruction."

While Strange has solidified the backing of the GOP establishment, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Moore is counting on the backing of the conservative wing of the party. He recently won the support of former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is expected to host a rally for him next week.

The candidate that finishes ahead in the GOP runoff is expected to hold the conservative-friendly seat in the December general election.

