A retired Marine Corps colonel from Tuscaloosa has launched a long shot write-in campaign seeking to outflank Roy Moore and Doug Jones in next month’s special election, reported the Washington Post.

“I just don’t believe that either one of them are qualified to be in the U.S. Senate,” said retired Colonel Lee Busby, 60, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Why this matters: Busby could mean real trouble for Moore, whose lead has narrowed to single digits in recent days. Though Busby is unlikely to win, his credentials and beliefs may provide a justifiable option for some GOP voters who feel they cannot vote for Moore but who would never vote for a pro-abortion rights candidate like Jones.

The details:

— Lee once served as an aide to White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly when both were on active duty.

— He told the newspaper that he voted for moderate Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the last presidential primary and then Donald Trump in the general.

— Lee told the Post that he attended a fundraiser for Jones earlier this year but didn’t contribute.

— The colonel said he supports lowering taxes, repealing Obamacare and restricting abortion.

— He said that life begins at conception, adding that “at some point, (the fetus) becomes a human life … and you have to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”