Sen. Richard Shelby told reporters he wrote in the name of a "distinguished Republican" on his absentee ballot for the state's junior Senate seat but did not say whose name he wrote in.

"No, no, no, I voted absentee. I didn't vote for him. I voted for a distinguished Republican write-in," Shelby told reporters when asked if he would vote for former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, The Hill reported.

"I'll vote Republican, but I will probably write in a good candidate," Shelby told The Hill on his plans for the Dec. 12 election earlier this month.

Shelby previously called on Moore to "seriously consider" dropping out after allegations arose he had improper sexual contact with teenage girls in the 1970s when he was in his 30s. Moore has denied the allegations and said he plans to stay in the race.

The Alabama Republican Party has warned elected GOP officials against write-in campaigns.

"It would be a serious error for any current elected GOP official or candidate to publicly endorse another party's candidate, an independent, a third party or a write in candidate in a general election as well," state GOP chairwoman Terry Lathan said earlier this month.