Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) on Sunday harshly criticized Roy Moore, Alabama’s Republican candidate for Senate and Shelby’s possible junior colleague who numerous women have accused of sexual misconduct, days before the upcoming special election.
“The state of Alabama deserves better,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Shelby said he “couldn’t vote” for Moore and “wrote in a distinguished Republican name” instead.
“If he wins, we have to seat him. Then there will immediately be an ethics investigation,” Shelby said. “The allegations are significantly stronger than the denial.”
He said that the women accusing Moore of misconduct are “credible” and “believable.”
“When it got to the 14-year-old story, that was enough for me,” Shelby said, referring to Leigh Corfman, who alleged that Moore initiated a sexual encounter when she was 14 years old and he was in his early 30s. “I said, I can’t vote for Roy Moore.”
Republican Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby: “I couldn’t vote for Roy Moore, I didn’t vote for Roy Moore, I wrote in a distinguished Republican name" #CNNSOTU https://t.co/gV85oBU51h
— CNN (@CNN) December 10, 2017
Moore’s senior campaign adviser Brett Doster fired back later Sunday.
Alabama deserves better than "establishment Shelby." #alsen https://t.co/k02XS6zEqb
— Brett Doster (@BrettDoster) December 10, 2017
This post has been updated.
