NRSC Chair: Moore Will ‘Never’ Have Support Of This GOP Committee

Republican challenger U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner makes point during senatorial debate with incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., at The Denver Post in Denver on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee said Thursday that Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore would “never” have the organization’s support.

Moore has been accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old and initiating sexual contact with a 14-year-old when he was an assistant district attorney, in addition to a slew of other allegations.

NRSC chair Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) said in November that the Senate should expel Moore if he is elected, and he didn’t back down from that position Thursday.

“Roy Moore will never have the support of the senatorial committee,” Gardner (pictured above) told the Weekly Standard in an interview. “We will never endorse him. We won’t support him,”

“I won’t let that happen. Nothing will change,” he added. “I stand by my previous statement.”

On Nov. 13, Gardner said in a statement about Moore: “If he refuses to withdraw and wins, the Senate should vote to expel him, because he does not meet the ethical and moral requirements of the United States Senate.”

But Republicans have increasingly embraced Moore, despite the allegations, as scattered polls have showed him leading in the race to fill Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat on Dec. 12.

President Donald Trump has fully endorsed the Alabamian, and the Republican National Committee allowed just more than two weeks to elapse before it began supporting Moore financially again, after cutting him off in response to the stories.

“We’ve taken a different position,” Gardner said when asked about Trump, according to the Weekly Standard. “I think our position is right.”

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: