Moore denies sexual misconduct
GOP fears election risk
His party suddenly and bitingly divided, Alabama Republican Roy Moore emphatically rejected increasing pressure to abandon his Senate bid on Friday as fears grew among GOP leaders that a once-safe Senate seat was in jeopardy just a month before a special election.
Moore, an outspoken Christian conservative and former state Supreme Court judge, attacked a Washington Post report that he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl and pursued three other teenagers decades earlier as “completely false and misleading.’’
In an interview with conservative radio host Sean Hannity, he did not wholly rule out dating teenage girls when he was in his early 30s.
Asked if that would have been usual for him, Moore said, “Not generally, no.’’ He added: “I don’t remember ever dating any girl without the permission of her mother.’’ As for the encounter with 14-year-old Leigh Corfman, as described by Corfman in Thursday’s Post article, he said, “It never happened.’’
The story has produced a wave of concern among anxious GOP officials in Washington but little more than a collective shrug from many Republicans in Alabama, which holds a special election on Dec. 12 to fill the seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“Humphrey Bogart started dating Lauren Bacall when she was a teenager,’’ said state Auditor Jim Ziegler, referring to the then-19-year-old actress.
“I’ll always vote for him,’’ said 28-year-old Erica Richard, of Altoona, Alabama, adding that she wouldn’t change her mind even if the allegations of sexual misconduct are proven true. “He’s a good man. I love him and his family, and they are all good people.’’
Paul Reynolds, Alabama’s Republican National Committeeman, called it “a firestorm designed to shipwreck a campaign in Alabama. I think it’s sinister.’’
Despite such support, experienced Republican operatives believe the Alabama Senate seat, held by the GOP for the last 20 years, is now at risk.
They fear the controversy could exacerbate the party’s broader Trump-era challenge in appealing to college-educated suburban voters _ the same group that fueled a big Democratic victory in the Virginia governor’s race this week.