By Burgess Everett (Politico) –
Three words are striking fear in Senate Republicans these days: “Sen. Roy Moore.”
The bomb-throwing former Alabama Supreme Court justice has vaulted to a hefty lead in Alabama’s Senate special election, lambasting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell every step of the way. A Moore victory would no doubt make McConnell’s tenuous 52-seat majority even more precarious, allies of the majority leader warn, potentially imperiling tax reform, raising the risk of default on the nation’s debt or even derailing routine Senate business.
Moore faces interim Sen. Luther Strange — whom a McConnell-aligned outside group has spent millions to elect — in a Sept. 26 Republican runoff.