Alabama race:
Republican calls grow for Roy Moore to drop out of the U.S. Senate race.
WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Pat Toomey urged Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore on Sunday to drop out of the race, adding to the party’s growing disavowal of the controversial judge in a pivotal election after allegations that he initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl decades ago.
Toomey said Moore’s explanations have been inadequate so far in response to the Washington Post report last week and that Republicans should consider current Sen. Luther Strange as a write-in candidate to run against Moore.
“You know, this is a terrible situation, nearly 40-year-old allegation, we’ll probably never know for sure exactly what happened,” said Toomey, R-Pa, told NBC. “But from my point of view, I think the accusations have more credibility than the denial. I think it would be best if Roy would just step aside.”
Toomey did not rule out the possibility that Senate Republicans might work to unseat Moore if he wins the special election against Democrat Doug Jones on Dec. 12.
The White House, pointedly noting that President Trump did not back Moore during the primary, said Trump will probably weigh in on the Senate race when he returns from Asia this week. The White House has already made clear that Moore should step aside if the allegations are proved to be true.
Moore, an outspoken Christian conservative, has attacked the Washington Post report as “completely false and misleading.” Still, 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.”
The story has stirred concern among anxious GOP officials in Washington in a key race to fill the Senate seat once held by Jeff Sessions, now the U.S. attorney general. Losing the special election to a Democrat would imperil Republicans’ already slim 52-48 majority in the Senate, which is hoping to pass a tax overhaul this year.
But a Moore victory also would pose risks if he were to join the Senate GOP with a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations.
In the immediate aftermath of the Post report Thursday, a wave of national Republican leaders called for Moore to drop out of the race if the allegations are true. They included the head of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Over the weekend, more Republicans distanced themselves from Moore.
“Look, I’m sorry, but even before these reports surfaced, Roy Moore’s nomination was a bridge too far,” Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., tweeted Saturday.