BREAKING: Murphy Exits Alabama Senate Race, Backs Moore
Former Trump official Morgan Murphy ends his Senate bid, endorses Rep. Barry Moore; shifts focus to flipping a Democratic U.S. House seat Red
Morgan Murphy, the former Trump administration official and former staff adviser to U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), announced Monday that he is ending his campaign for the U.S. Senate and will instead pursue a run for Congress in hopes of flipping a Democratic-held House seat in Alabama.
Murphy shared the news in a video message, saying he chose to step aside in the Senate race to unite Republicans behind the candidate endorsed by Donald Trump.
“President Trump is the leader of our party and has sacrificed more than anyone to Make America Great Again. He deserves the senator he wants in Washington, DC,” Murphy said.
Murphy also endorsed Barry Moore, the Enterprise congressman who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Tommy Tuberville. Trump gave Moore his “complete and total endorsement” earlier this year, reshaping the Republican primary contest.
Explaining his decision, Murphy said Republican infighting would only weaken the party ahead of the general election.
“Republicans don’t need to waste time or money fighting each another,” Murphy said as he announced his withdrawal from the race.
Murphy said his next political focus will be on helping Republicans maintain control of the U.S. House by targeting one of Alabama’s Democratic congressional seats.
“I plan to flip a blue House seat right here in ruby-red Alabama. The United States cannot afford to lose the House and spend the next two years of President Trump’s administration battling radicals on the left who care more about nursing their Trump Derangement Syndrome than they do about the country or our state.”
The move comes in the middle of a competitive Republican primary to replace Tuberville, who is running for Governor in 2026 rather than seeking reelection to the Senate.
Murphy entered the Senate race in 2025 and quickly built a national fundraising base. His campaign reported raising more than $1 million from thousands of donors across the country.
A Birmingham native, Murphy is a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve and has served for more than two decades. He previously worked in the Trump administration and later served as national security adviser to Tuberville in the Senate. His campaign also highlighted support from veterans and grassroots conservatives across the State during the early months of the race.
Murphy has not yet formally announced which House district he intends to target, though potential changes to Alabama’s congressional map remain possible depending on federal court rulings in ongoing redistricting cases.
Murphy’s move comes in anticipation of the possibility of new Alabama congressional districts following the anticipated Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. Thus far, the Justices of the High Court have appeared favorable towards limiting race-base redistricting, which would allow Louisiana, Alabama and several other States to redraw their congressional (and other) maps.
A bill currently making its way through the Alabama legislature, SB23, would require a new special primary election if district boundaries for legislative or congressional seats are changed after the regular election schedule can no longer accommodate those changes. This could occur if the Alabama Legislature redraws district lines — as after a ruling in Callais allowing such a move — or if a State or federal court orders new district boundaries to be used. In those cases, when the timing comes too late for the normal primary process, election officials would hold a special primary to ensure candidates run under the updated district maps.
At present, Alabama has only two Democrat-held congressional seats: AL-02 by Shomari Figures and AL-07 by Terri Sewell. Of these, Hampton Harris is the presumptive Republican nominee in AL-02, but Terri Sewell has no Republican opponent at present.
Assuming the SCOTUS rules as anticipated in Callais, a special session of the Legislature could be called to redraw the congressional maps — and thus create the opportunity for Murphy to enter the new special primary that SB23 would allow.
Murphy’s announcement may be seen on YouTube or below:
