Calling Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore “a terrible nominee” for the GOP, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said if Moore is blocked from a mall in his hometown, he probably doesn’t belong in Congress.
“It seems clear to me that Roy Moore had a problem for a very long time when it came to young girls, to the point that he was put on a watch list at the mall when he was in his 30s, for pursuing teenage girls at the mall,” Graham said Monday on Fox News Radio’s “The Brian Kilmeade Show.” “If you can’t go to a mall in Alabama, maybe you shouldn’t go to the Senate.”
Graham is one of many senior Republicans calling on Moore to step aside from the Alabama Senate race after allegations surfaced that Moore pursued relationships or made unwanted sexual advances toward teenage girls when he was in his 30s. Multiple women have come forward with similar accusations, including one who said she was just 14-years-old when Moore allegedly made unwanted advances toward her. The Washington Post first reported on the allegations. More reports surfaced after the Post’s with additional accusers. Other reports claimed that Moore was banned from the local mall.
Moore has denied all of the allegations, claiming he doesn’t know the women who have come forward and saying it’s all a political attack on him from the media. He’s refused to drop out of the race.
“After you add all this up, it’s pretty clear to me that I believe the accusers here. Because somebody says something in large numbers doesn’t make me believe them, it’s just putting the puzzle together,” Graham said. “I just think Roy Moore is going to probably lose this seat, which will make it really hard for us to do health care and anything else President Trump wants to do and almost any Republican in Alabama could win this seat.”
Graham called the seat – currently held by Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL), who was appointed after former Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) was confirmed as attorney general – “almost impossible” for a Republican to lose. Moore won the Republican primary election against Strange during a special runoff election.
“If we had a contest, design a system that would make us lose Alabama, we would win a prize for what we have today,” he said. “How effective can you be coming into the Senate with this hanging onto you?”
