Amid Allegations, McConnell Urges Roy Moore to Quit Senate Race

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama “should step aside.”

McConnell says he believes the stories of the women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct. And he says Republicans are now looking at a write-in option in Alabama to replace Moore against his will.

Alabama’s race for U.S. Senate is tightening as Moore weathers accusations of sexual misconduct against teenagers.

Moore, speaking at a Christian academy in Huntsville Sunday, worked to remind voters of his Christian conservative bonafides.

“We can be proud of where we came from and where we’re going if we go back to God,” Moore told the audience.

He continues to call the sexual abuse accusations against him “fake news” and plans to file a lawsuit against The Washington Post for publishing the story

Friday, a woman who worked alongside Moore as a deputy district attorney during the time in question entered the conversation.

Teresa Jones tweeted: “As a Deputy DA in Gadsden when Roy Moore was there, it was common knowledge about Roy’s propensity for teenage girls. I’m appalled that these women are being skewered for the truth.”

Last week, The Washington Post reported that when Moore was in his early 30s, he allegedly initiated sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and pursued three other teenaged girls between the ages of 16 and 18. The age of legal consent in Alabama was and is 16.

A growing number of Republican lawmakers are urging him to drop out of the race, but a senior advisor to Moore says that even if President Trump asked him to drop out, he’d keep going.

Members of the Trump administration are urging restraint and warning against trying a candidate through the press.

On Meet the Press Sunday, director of White House legislative affairs Marc Short said, “The people in Alabama know Roy Moore better than we do here in D.C., and I think we have to be very cautious … of allegations that are 40 years old that arise a month before Election Day.”

At this point, even if Moore dropped out of the race, his name would still appear on the Alabama ballot.

His Democratic challenger, Doug Jones, says he had no prior knowledge of the accusations and is calling on Moore to explain.

“They are serious allegations that need to be addressed specifically, not just a general denial and blaming somebody else,” Jones said.

Both candidates are vying to fill the seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, all rights reserved. {eoa}