Donald Trump's favourite to win Alabama Senate beaten by rival who pulled out a gun at a rally

Election win: Roy Moore
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David Gardner|Harriet Pavey27 September 2017

President Donald Trump suffered a double blow on Tuesday when his chosen candidate in a primary election run-off was beaten by a former judge who pulled out a gun at a political rally.

The vote came hours after the Republican Party admitted another defeat in their efforts to replace Obamacare.

The primary election was held to decide which Republican would fight for a Senate seat in December. Incumbent candidate Luther Strange, who was backed by Mr Trump, was defeated by former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore.

Moore, who is an evangelical Christian, sparked a media sensation when he pulled out a hand gun at a rally on Monday night to emphasise his belief in the Second Amendment.

He had the support of former White House strategist Steve Bannon as well as ex-vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin.

“Don’t let anybody in the press say that because Trump supported my opponent I do not support him,” Mr Moore told a crowd of cheering supporters in Montgomery, Alabama, after the result was read out.

The first primary election was on August 15 when none of the nine Republican candidates garnered over 50 percent of the vote, triggering the run-off.

Mr Trump was forced to admit he “might have made a mistake” in campaigning for Mr Strange and pledged to support Mr Moore in his bid to retain the Senate seat. The seat had been held by Jeff Sessions for two decades before he quit to become US Attorney General.

Moore will now face Democratic candidate Doug Jones in the general election in December.

The result was announced hours after the collapse of the Republicans’ latest attempt to replace Obamacare, the previous president’s health reforms that Mr Trump has repeatedly vowed to dismantle.

Short of votes, Senate Republicans had little choice but to abandon possibly their final attempt to kill off the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act.

A frustrated Mr Trump railed against “certain so-called Republicans” who made it clear they would not vote for the move.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana today described the repeal-and-replace bill as “dead as a doornail”.

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