One of Four Moore Supporters Wins Ala. Primary

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Roy Moore's (search) former top aide won in the Republican primary for the Alabama Supreme Court, but three other acolytes of the ousted chief justice fell short of victory.

Tom Parker unseated Associate Justice Jean Brown — who became the target of Moore's supporters after she voted to remove his Ten Commandments monument.

"We had an unelected federal judge order the removal of the Ten Commandments monument. Chief Justice Moore was removed by an unelected group of judges," Parker said. "This is the first time that the people had a chance to let their voices be heard."

With 99 percent of precincts reporting in the unofficial count of the GOP primary, Parker had 107,160 votes, or 51 percent, to Brown's 103,123 votes, or 49 percent.

But if the primary was, as some political observers believed, a referendum on Moore's Ten Commandments stance, the results were unclear at best.

A Moore-backed candidate for nomination to a second seat on the court lost overwhelmingly, and a third candidate had only hopes of forcing a runoff for the GOP nomination. Moore's attorney, Phillip Jauregui, was trounced in his bid to unseat six-term Rep. Spencer Bachus in the 6th Congressional District.

Three Democratic candidates for the court were unopposed in Tuesday's primary.

Moore himself downplayed his influence on the various races.

"I don't think it's a referendum on me," he said. "I did voice my support for their character and integrity ... but that doesn't mean that people are voting for them because of me."

A Moore-supported appeals court judge, Pam Baschab, lost to Shelby County judge Patti M. Smith in the Place Two race, 58 percent to 42 percent with 99 percent of precincts reporting.

The four-way race for the Place Three nomination seemed headed for a runoff, with Jefferson County Probate Judge Mike Bolin holding a sizable lead but apparently slightly short of the 50 percent needed to win the primary outright.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Moore supporter Jerry Stokes, a former circuit judge, had 26 percent of the vote and would be Bolin's opponent if a runoff took place.