Two Republican senators rescinded their endorsements of Alabama Senate candidate (R) Roy Moore Friday night over reports that he’d pursued relationships with multiple teenage women.
“Having read the detailed description of the incidents, as well as the response from Judge Moore and his campaign, I can no longer endorse his candidacy for the US Senate,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said on Twitter.
Lee, one of Moore’s most high-profile supporters, had already requested that the campaign stop using his image on fundraising materials.
A few minutes later, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) also announced he was pulling his “endorsement and support for Roy Moore for U.S. Senate.”
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) piped up Saturday morning to say that the allegations weren’t necessary to know that Moore was unfit to be a senator. Moore was removed from the Alabama state supreme court for refusing to acknowledge the Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage, and has said Muslims should be forbidden from serving in Congress.
Look, I'm sorry, but even before these reports surfaced, Roy Moore's nomination was a bridge too far.
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) November 11, 2017
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has also pulled out of its fundraising agreement with the Alabama Republican.
The Washington Post on Thursday broke the news that Moore dated women as young as 17 or 18 when he was in his early 30s, and groped one woman when she was only 14 years old. Moore has mostly denied the accusations, but told conservative radio host Sean Hannity in a lengthy interview that he didn’t remember dating women that young and did “not generally” do so.
Other Republican senators have said that Moore must step aside if they receive additional proof that these stories are true.
