Hard-right Republican’s 2017 campaign was marred by allegations he sexually assaulted or pursued teenage girls while in his 30s

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Alabama Republican Roy Moore, whose unsuccessful 2017 campaign for US Senate was marred by allegations he sexually assaulted or pursued teenage girls while in his 30s, has said he may run again.

In an interview on the Christian program Focal Point on American Family Radio, host Bryan Fischer asked Moore about the 2020 race for the Senate in Alabama.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about throwing your hat back into the ring,” Fischer said.

“I’m seriously considering it,” Moore said. “I think that it [the 2017 Senate race] was stolen.”

He cited what he described as misinformation campaigns against him.

The Democratic candidate, Doug Jones, a former federal prosecutor, defeated Moore by a narrow margin in a special election in December 2017 to fill the seat vacated by Republican Jeff Sessions when he became US attorney general. Jones was the first Democrat in a quarter-century to be elected to the US Senate in Alabama.

If Moore, a 72-year-old former state chief judge known for staunchly conservative views, does decide to run for the Senate in 2020 and secures the Republican nomination, he could face Jones again.

Moore’s 2017 campaign was beset by allegations from women who told the Washington Post he sexually assaulted or pursued them while he was in his 30s and they were teenagers. Moore denied the allegations.

In January, Alabama’s Republican attorney general, Steve Marshall, asked federal elections officials to investigate allegations that the special election was tainted by use of a misleading social media campaign against Moore.

The New York Times has reported that Democratic operatives sought to undermine Moore by creating a Facebook page claiming his supporters wanted to ban alcohol in the state. The newspaper has also reported that Democrats created a separate “false flag” Facebook page to portray Moore as supported by Russian bot accounts.

The US representative Bradley Byrne is the only Republican in Alabama who has formally pledged to run for the Senate in 2020, according to AL.com.