U.S. Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, publicly endorsed State Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs, for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Alabama on Wednesday.
“I am proud to endorse Arnold Mooney for U.S. Senate,” Lee said. “Arnold is a strong constitutional conservative and the best candidate to beat (U.S. Sen.) Doug Jones. He has a proven record of taking on the Establishment in Alabama, and will do the same in DC.”
Lee is one of the most conservative members of the United States Senate. He won his first race in an upset in 2010. He has a long record of endorsing successful conservative outsiders for Senate, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
“I am deeply grateful to Sen. Lee for his support,” Mooney said. “He is one of the strongest constitutionalists in the Senate and one of the few in Washington with the courage to stand on conservative principles and stick to his guns. He’s exactly the kind of senator I plan to emulate in Washington.”
Mooney is a state representative from Shelby County.
“I am not a career politician,” Mooney wrote on his website. “I’m a conservative and an outsider. But I look around and see a rising tide of socialism on the left and feel like if we don’t do something to turn this ship around, we are going to leave our children and grandchildren a country we don’t recognize. Freedom isn’t transmitted through the bloodstream. It has to be taught, and it has to be protected for each new generation. That’s why I am doing this.”
Mooney co-sponsored the Human Life Protection Act, HB314, that passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey. HB314 is one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. Mooney has also sponsored the Right to Work and Ten Commandments amendments.
Mooney is serving in his second term in the Alabama House representing District 43.
Mooney has sponsored a number of pieces of legislation in the current session. Conservative bills sponsored by Mooney include HB56, which would allow Alabama taxpayers to donate their tax refunds to Build the Wall Incorporated; HB561, which would establish term limits for Alabama legislators; and HB535, which would extend stand your ground principles to Shelby County Churches.
Mooney worked for U.S. Sen. Jim Allen and was the long-time campaign chair for State Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin (R), who held the House district 43 seat prior to Mooney’s election.
Mooney has over 40 years of experience working in commercial real estate outside of his State Legislature experience. He has lived in Alabama for over 28 years. He and his wife Kelly have been married for 31 years. They have three children and two grandchildren. Mooney is 68 years old.
Other candidates in the field include State Auditor Jim Zeigler, who is exploring the position; Congressman Bradley Byrne; former Auburn football Coach Tommy Tuberville; and businessman and former television evangelist Stanley Adair.
The Republican primary is March 3, 2020.
