Moore, Riley matchup looms

The Republican race for governor will take shape in the coming week, with ousted Chief Justice Roy Moore and Gov. Bob Riley expected to announce their candidacies and set up a classic battle between the GOP's two cornerstones: religious conservatives and business groups.

Moore has scheduled an announcement about his gubernatorial plans Monday in his hometown of Gadsden. Riley is having a 61st birthday party Saturday in Birmingham, where many of his supporters expect him to kick off a re-election campaign.

For months, Moore has been saying that he was praying about whether to run for governor, and that if he ran, he expected it to be as a Republican.

Some of his supporters have urged him to run for chief justice -- the job he lost in November 2003 for refusing to follow a federal judge's order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building -- but Moore has made no mention of that.

Howard Phillips, a friend of Moore's who ran for president three times and started the Constitution Party, said he believes the former chief justice has gotten the answer to his prayers.

"I believe he feels led to run for governor," Phillips said.

Former state Sen. Roy Smith, R-Gadsden, is co-chairman of the We Need Moore 2006 Committee, and he's optimistic Moore will launch a campaign for governor Monday.

"I expect him to announce to run, but I'm not certain," Smith said.

Smith also expects Riley to announce at the end of the week.

Source: The Associated Press