Barry Moore (Alabama politician)

Felix Barry Moore (born September 26, 1966) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Alabama's 2nd congressional district since 2021. Before his election to the United States House of Representatives, he served as a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from the 91st district from 2010 to 2018.[1]

Barry Moore
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2021
Preceded by	Martha Roby
Member of the Alabama House of Representatives from the 91st district
In office November 3, 2010 – November 7, 2018
Preceded by	Terry Spicer
Succeeded by	Rhett Marques
Personal details
Born	Felix Barry Moore September 26, 1966 Enterprise, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Heather Hopper ​ (m. 1992)​
Education	Enterprise State Community College (AS) Auburn University (BS)
Signature
Website	House website

In May 2017, Moore announced his intention to run for the U.S. House of Representatives for Alabama's 2nd congressional district against incumbent Republican representative Martha Roby.[2] He finished third in the 2018 Republican primary. After Roby announced in July 2019 that she would not run for reelection in 2020, Moore announced his candidacy for the open seat[3] and advanced to a runoff election against Jeff Coleman. Moore defeated Coleman to win the Republican nomination[4] and faced Democrat Phyllis Harvey-Hall in the general election.

Early life and education

Barry Moore grew up on a farm in Coffee County, and attended Enterprise State Community College.[5][6] He later attended Auburn University, where he received a degree in agricultural science in 1992. While attending Auburn, Moore was enlisted in the Alabama National Guard.

In 1998, Moore founded Barry Moore Industries, a waste hauling company.

Alabama House of Representatives

Moore was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2010, defeating Democratic incumbent Terry Spicer.[7] PACs controlled by Mike Hubbard, a prominent Republican politician in Alabama and convicted felon,[8] contributed more than $150,000 towards his candidacy.

U.S. House of Representatives

2018

In 2018, Moore challenged incumbent U.S. Representative Martha Roby in the Republican primary for AL-02, placing third behind Roby and former U.S. Representative Bobby Bright.[5]

2020

Moore again sought the nomination in 2020, placing second in the Republican primary and later defeating Dothan businessman Jeff Coleman in the runoff.[9] Moore faced Democratic nominee Phyllis Harvey-Hall in the general election.

On November 3, 2020, Moore won the general election with 65.2 percent of the vote.

Committee assignments[10]

• Committee on Agriculture
• Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

Caucus memberships

• Freedom Caucus[11]

Controversies

Two months after Moore was elected to the Alabama State House of Representatives in 2010, he and his wife were awarded a contract with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), which is notable because neither Moore nor his wife had ever held state contracts prior to his election to public office. Total payments from ADEM from Fiscal Year 2011 through 2013 totaled $64,612.[12][13]

In April 2014, Moore was arrested for felony perjury and lying to authorities during a grand jury investigation into Moore's friend and mentor, Mike Hubbard.[14] In late 2014, Moore was acquitted of all charges.[12][15]

On October 30, 2020, Moore's Twitter account sent a tweet advocating for higher taxes and voting restrictions for those who move from one state to another state. The tweet was deleted shortly after, and Moore's media director, Jonathan Barbee, claimed responsibility, saying that the opinion was a personal view that Moore did not share and that Barbee had intended to send the tweet from his personal account.[16]

On January 6, 2021, Moore objected to the certification of the Electoral College results in Congress. He was one of the 147 Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election on January 7, 2021, immediately following the storming of the U.S. Capitol.[17] President Donald Trump and his allies had made false and baseless claims of fraud in the election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden. These false claims and subsequent objections to the Electoral College results were cited as contributory factors in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which led to calls from some of Moore's colleagues for his expulsion from Congress.[18]

On January 10, 2021, Moore drew criticism for two controversial posts on Twitter, one of which echoed the false claim of “stealing an election on November 3rd.” Both tweets appeared to understate the seriousness of the armed insurrection at the United States Capitol that took place four days prior on January 6, 2021, and as a result, his account was temporarily suspended by the social media platform. In response, Moore deactivated his account “because of the censorship of conservative voices he saw happening.” [19]

Electoral history

Republican primary results, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Martha Roby (incumbent)	36,708	39.0
	Republican	Bobby Bright	26,481	28.1
	Republican	Barry Moore	18,177	19.3
	Republican	Rich Hobson	7,052	7.5
	Republican	Tommy Amason	5,763	6.1
Total votes			94,181	100.0

Republican primary results, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Coleman	39,738	38.1
	Republican	Barry Moore	21,354	20.4
	Republican	Jessica Taylor	20,763	19.9
	Republican	Troy King	15,145	14.5
	Republican	Terri Hasdorff	5,207	5.0
	Republican	Thomas W. Brown	1,395	1.3
	Republican	Bob Rogers	824	0.8
Total votes			104,426	100.0%

Republican primary runoff results, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Barry Moore	51,715	60.0%
	Republican	Jeff Coleman	34,503	40.0%
Total votes			86,218	100.0%

Alabama’s 2nd congressional district, 2020[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Barry Moore	197,996	65.2
	Democratic	Phyllis Harvey-Hall	105,286	34.7
	Write-in		287	0.1
Total votes			303,569	100.0
	Republican hold

Personal life

Moore is married to Heather Moore.[12]

References

1. "Barry Moore". Legislature.state.al.us. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
2. "Barry Moore challenging Martha Roby for House seat". al. May 12, 2017.
3. "Enterprise's Barry Moore to run for U.S. House of Representatives". AL.com. May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
4. "Barry Moore wins in District 2 GOP runoff". al. July 15, 2020.
5. Bryan Lyman (February 14, 2020). "Barry Moore hitting veteran status in congressional run". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
6. "Barry Moore for US Congress |".
7. Bill Britt (June 15, 2020). "A brief look at candidate Barry Moore". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
8. Britt, Bill (June 15, 2020). "A brief look at candidate Barry Moore". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
9. Bryan Lyman (July 14, 2020). "Barry Moore defeats Jeff Coleman for GOP nomination in 2nd Congressional District". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
10. "Rep. Barry Moore to Serve on House Agriculture Committee, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs in 117th Congress | Representative Barry Moore". barrymoore.house.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
11. "House Freedom Fund". www.housefreedomfund.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
12. Britt, Bill (June 15, 2020). "A brief look at candidate Barry Moore". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
13. Britt, Bill. "Rep. Barry Moore Receives Thousands in Taxpayer Dollars". Alabama Political Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
14. "AL Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise arrested on felony charges". WSFA 12 News. April 24, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
15. Cliff Sims. "Alabama Rep. Barry Moore not guilty on all counts". Yellowhammer News. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
16. Lyman, Brian (October 30, 2020). "Barry Moore campaign worker: I sent tweet on voting restrictions for new state residents". The Montgomery Advertiser.
17. Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry; Lu, Denise (January 7, 2021). "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
18. Smith, Kate. "Congresswoman proposes legislation to remove house members; including six Alabama congressmen". WBRC. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
19. Specker, Lawrence. "Rep. Barry Moore deletes Twitter account after suspension, controversial Capitol riot tweets". AL.com. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
20. "State of Alabama - Canvass of Results -" (PDF). Alabama Secretary of State. Retrieved November 23, 2020.

External links

• Representative Barry Moore, official U.S. House website
• Official campaign website
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Barry Moore at Ballotpedia