The Alabama GOP's move comes as national Republican Party leaders have called for Roy Moore to withdraw from the race. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Alabama GOP reaffirms support for Moore

The Alabama Republican Party issued a statement Thursday confirming that it still supports Roy Moore despite recent sexual misconduct allegations against him.

The party's 21-member steering committee met to consider what to do about Moore, the GOP nominee for Senate, in light of a growing number of allegations that he pursued or forced himself on women when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.


“The ALGOP Steering Committee supports Judge Roy Moore as our nominee and trusts the voters as they make the ultimate decision in this crucial race," Alabama Republican Party Chairwoman Terry Lathan said in the statement. “Judge Moore has vehemently denied the allegations made against him. He deserves to be presumed innocent of the accusations unless proven otherwise. He will continue to take his case straight to the people of Alabama."

Moore has pushed back on the accusations, even as Republican Party leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Cory Gardner have called for him to withdraw from the race.

The controversy has given Democrats an opportunity to win the Dec. 12 special election against Moore in deeply Republican Alabama. Lathan cast Democratic nominee Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney, as a threat to President Donald Trump and the GOP in her statement backing Moore.

“There is a sharp policy contrast between Judge Moore, a conservative Republican who supports President Trump, and the liberal Democrat who will fight and thwart the agenda of our president," Lathan continued. "We trust the Alabama voters in this election to have our beloved state and nation’s best interest at heart. Alabamians will be the ultimate jury in this election — not the media or those from afar.”

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