Alabama Senate hopeful Roy Moore visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with Republican senators. In a brief interview with The Daily Beast as he traveled for the first time from the Russell Senate Office Building through the underground tunnels to the Capitol, the ultraconservative former Alabama Supreme Court justice said he was invited to join his potential future colleagues for their weekly policy lunch. Moore, who was carrying a bag with the word “freedom” emblazoned on it, did not know whether he plans to meet face-to-face with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), whom Moore has disparaged throughout his campaign. A spokesman for McConnell told The Daily Beast that it was typical for candidates to “attend a policy lunch after they become the nominee.” Moore, who is famous for arriving to the voting booth on horseback, was not carrying his gun with him at the Capitol on Tuesday, as firearms are tightly regulated in the District of Columbia and banned in all of the Capitol buildings. Moore is facing off against Democrat and former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones in the deep-red state’s special election. He has secured the support of Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX) and others. The GOP rank-and-file had backed the incumbent, Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL), in the runoff last month.

—Andrew Desiderio