As sexual misconduct claims plague the campaign of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is considering a scenario where Sen. Luther Strange steps down from the seat to trigger a new special election, Politico reported Wednesday.

It's unclear whether Strange -- who was appointed to the seat by then-Gov. Robert Bentley in January -- is amenable to resigning, or if such a move is legal, Politico noted.

However, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey threw cold water on that idea in an interview Monday with AL.com.

"The election date is set for Dec. 12. Were he to resign I would simply appoint somebody to fill the remaining time until we have the election on Dec. 12," she said.

Ivey set that date of the special election, which under Bentley was scheduled for 2018.

The report comes as the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of Senate Republicans, released a poll showing Moore trailing Democrat Doug Jones by 12 percentage points.

Moore has denied the allegations against him and vowed to continue staying in the race.

Alabamians head to the polls on Dec. 12.

Mike Cason contributed reporting to this story.

Story updated at 9:59 p.m. to include a quote from Ivey.