Senate candidate Roy Moore faces Democrat Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney, in the general election, scheduled for December 12. | Brynn Anderson/AP Moore meets with Bannon, Alabama House members

Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore met with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and House members of the Alabama congressional delegation in Washington on Wednesday.

The meetings came about a week after the former Alabama Supreme Court judge won a hotly contested primary runoff against Sen. Luther Strange. Immediately after that victory, Strange backers Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund super PAC, said they would support Moore in the general election.


Moore's meetings did not include sit-downs with Strange, McConnell or GOP Sen. Richard Shelby, a close Strange ally from Alabama — and his visit to Washington seemed to catch senior Senate Republicans off guard.

"I talked to him on the phone and told him I look forward to visiting with him when he’s here but I didn’t know he was here today," said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). When told Moore was meeting with House lawmakers but not senators, Cornyn responded: "Oh really? Huh."

Shelby told reporters at the Capitol Wednesday that he hasn't spoken with Moore since the former judge won the primary Sept. 26.

"If he calls me I’d be glad to meet," Shelby said. "Hadn’t yet. But I haven’t been to my office since yesterday."

When asked whether there was any discussion with McConnell, Shelby or Strange to organize a meeting, Moore campaign chairman Bill Armistead said in a text message, “nothing confirmed at this point.”

Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Asked whether the campaign was looking to set up a meeting, Armistead responded, “I think our schedule is full.”

Bannon, who endorsed Moore's Senate bid, is working to organize primary challenges to incumbent Senate Republicans across the country.

Moore met with Bannon Wednesday morning and House members in the afternoon. The meetings were first reported by the Washington Post.

Moore faces Democrat Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney, in the general election, scheduled for Dec. 12.