Moore flirted with running for the nomination of the overtly theocratic Constitution Party in 2004.  Nationally known as the "Ten Commandments Judge," Moore had installed a 5,280-pound granite sculpture of an open book inscribed with the commandments shortly after he was elected (as a Republican) as Chief Judge of the Alabama Supreme Court in 2001, and then defied a federal court order to remove it -- which resulted in his being removed from the bench.  He went on to become a celebrity headliner for events across a wide swath of the Religious Right including appearances at state Constitution Party events. But he didn't take the plunge.

He also made noises about running for president in 2008, but didn't go for it; and he lost primary challenges to incumbent Alabama Governor Bob Riley in 2006 and 2010.  

Moore epitomizes dominionism in American politics and might be able to rally the harder core of the Religious Right should he decide to run for the GOP nomination.  But there has been speculation that he is aiming for the Constitution Party nomination.  If so, running as a Republican to start the campaign and switching parties in time for the Constitution Party party convention (if, as seems likely, his campaign does not break out of a narrow slice of the GOP caucus and primary pie) -- might be a more dramatic way to run for the Constitution Party nomination than if he started out with that as his publicly stated goal.  But if that is his plan, it may not work out so well, since unlike other years, this time there may be other strong contenders.  But still, its not a bad gambit.  

But running as a Republican, he may, as The Wall Street Journal points out, sufficiently split the Religious Right faction among a number of candidates to clear the way for a more mainstream candidate.   And while "mainstream" can be a very relative term, this is what happened in 2000, when Gary Bauer, Alan Keyes, Steve Forbes and Dan Quayle split the Religious Right vote while Republican mainstreamers generally went with Texas Governor George W. Bush.