Alabama’s controversial Senate candidate says he has spoken to McConnell about the tough race ahead

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Butch Dill/AP

WASHINGTON — Roy Moore, the former Alabama State Supreme Court justice who is now the Republican nominee for Senate in the state’s special election this December, said he spoke to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after defeating the incumbent senator in the primary last month.

At the Values Voter Summit on Friday, Moore said he has spoken to McConnell once, telling him that it would be a "hard campaign."

Moore’s aide then got testy with reporters and barred further questions before exiting the event space.

A spokesperson for McConnell was not immediately available for comment.

Moore routinely cited McConnell as a primary foe and obstacle to a more conservative agenda while on the campaign trail to defeat Sen. Luther Strange in the Republican primary in September.

On Thursday, Moore told Newsmax’s John Gizzi that he would not back McConnell as the majority leader if he has a vote in the Senate.

"He has repeatedly let down the president’s agenda and the proof is in the inaction we see on ending Obamacare, toughening immigration laws, and getting tax reform on the road to passage," Moore said.

And while McConnell endorsed Moore following his victory over Strange, who was backed by both the majority leader and President Donald Trump, the McConnell-linked Senate Leadership Fund will not spend any more money in the Alabam special election.

"This is Alabama, not New York or California," SLF spokesman Chris Pack told AL.com. "Democrats would first need to demonstrate this is an actual race before anything is considered."

Moore has been one of the more controversial major Senate candidates in recent history. He has been removed from the state Supreme Court bench on two separate occassions in Alabama, suggested homosexual acts should be illegal, and shared videos claiming former President Barack Obama is a secret Muslim.

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