Alabama write-in candidate insists he’s not a spoiler

Lee Busby, the Republican running a late write-in campaign in Alabama’s Senate race, insisted he isn’t a spoiler candidate and can win a special election that is just two weeks away.

The retired Marine colonel told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday that he believes there are a lot of voters looking for someone other than GOP candidate Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones.

“I’m not happy with the two choices I had,” Busby told the hosts. “And I usually don’t have such an extreme reaction to not being happy with choices. But I felt like there was a lot of people in Alabama who felt like me. The more people I talked to, the more sense that I got that there’s this huge swath in the middle that feels like they’re not represented there.”

{mosads}Busby added that comments on his campaign’s Facebook page from irate Moore supporters only encouraged him.

“I’m either a Democratic agent or a lackey of [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell,” Busby joked.

Busby repeatedly declined to speak about the allegations surrounding Moore, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by several women, including one who says she was 14 years old when Moore, then 32, initiated a sexual encounter with her.

“The swirl that was going on, it’s not that at all. I got no interest in it,” he said. “I hope they get it sorted out, but it’s not my interest. I was not a supporter beforehand. I don’t know Roy Moore, I’ve never met him. But there’s a sense of self-righteousness that comes out of that campaign that bothered me. And I don’t think it represents the majority of Alabama voters.