U.S. Rep. Barry Moore won Alabama’s Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, defeating former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson to secure the GOP nomination in a race that will decide who succeeds retiring Sen. Tommy Tuberville. Moore, who received Trump’s endorsement before the May primary, will face Democrat Everett Wess, a former judge, in the November general election.
In the closely watched lieutenant governor race, John Wahl, the former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, defeated Secretary of State Wes Allen to win the GOP nomination. Wahl, a butterfly farmer and business owner from north Alabama, also carried Trump’s endorsement into the runoff. He will face Democrat Phillip Ensler, a state representative, in the fall.
Voter turnout in the runoff election was exceptionally low, with only 408,740 ballots cast out of Alabama’s 3.8 million registered voters—a turnout of 10.72 percent, according to the Alabama Secretary of State. The figure reflected a continued decline in participation; in the initial May 19 primary, 23.11 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
Alabama requires candidates to win a primary election with a majority of the vote. When no candidate reaches 50 percent in the first round, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff. Moore led the May primary with 39.2 percent, but Hudson’s late surge in polling made the runoff competitive. Trump’s endorsement ultimately proved decisive in both races, as the president backed Moore in the Senate race and Wahl for lieutenant governor.
In deep red Alabama, the Republican winners are virtually certain to prevail in November’s general election. The state has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since Doug Jones in 2020, and Republicans hold all statewide offices. Moore’s victory caps a runoff that drew national attention as a test of Trump’s continued influence within the GOP, particularly after Hudson, a political newcomer, had led in some polls before election day.
Sources
- AL.com — Comprehensive election night coverage of Moore defeating Hudson and Wahl defeating Allen, voter turnout figures, and general election matchups
- NBC News — Projection that Moore won the GOP Senate runoff and Wahl won the lieutenant governor runoff
- Alabama Secretary of State — Official voter turnout and ballot cast totals for the June 16, 2026 runoff election
- Alabama Daily News — Reporting on Wahl’s victory and confirmation he is a former ALGOP chairman
