Not long after the Washington Post ran its first story on accusations regarding Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, the Retirement Systems of Alabama began getting messages.

RSA CEO David Bronner said the pension fund, which runs the state's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, received "a huge number" of emails and some letters from past visitors threatening to never visit the trail again - if Moore is elected Dec. 12.

That impacts tourism, Bronner said, which is a $13 billion industry annually for Alabama. But it's more than just Moore's recent allegations. It's his career, which includes being removed from office twice as Alabama's chief justice.

"Whenever you have extremist views on anything, you're in competition with places that don't have those views," he said.

The golf trail, which has been called Alabama's most significant economic project in the past 40 years, is just one aspect of how Alabama's senate campaign may be affecting - and could affect - business, both now and in years to come. Bronner, as well as others, worry allegations that the ex-judge behaved inappropriately with teenage girls when he was in his 30s and serving as a prosecutor in Etowah County could stymie growth and development.

Moore has denied those allegations.

"What people don't understand is that industry as a whole, everyone that I know, that I'm associated with - they don't want to be in a place that's known for extreme positions," Bronner said. "That's left or right or anywhere. Business comes because they're going to get a good workforce and more importantly, make money. They don't want to run the risk of insulting their clients."

Private concerns

While the state's business community may privately share concerns about the campaign, there haven't been many public statements.

On Tuesday, the Birmingham Business Alliance held its annual Chairman's Meeting. There were comments from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, UAB President Ray Watts, Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens, Alliance President Brian Hilson, and representatives of the state's automotive industry. None of the speakers referenced the campaign.

Later, at a reception, several business leaders declined commenting on the campaign, as did others who were contacted elsewhere.

Neal Berte, president emeritus of Birmingham-Southern College, was at the event and is a member of the alliance's executive committee. He said the Tuesday night program highlighted many of the positives going on in Alabama - the strength of its automotive industry, the development of downtown Birmingham. But the "sordid dimensions of the allegations" around Moore are "simply not good for our state," he said.

"I cannot help but think it really would not be good," he said of a possible Moore win. "All the negativity, the nature of the allegations, but also the heavily charged political environment we're seeing. I don't think it would be good if a company looking outside Alabama for expansion sees this. I don't think it would be a positive, and I'm not the only one that has said that."

Sen. Richard Shelby said similar things in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on the potential economic impact.

"The business community has concerns about the image of Alabama because we have attracted a lot of domestic and foreign investment," he was quoted as saying.

But the Moore campaign has highlighted a traditionally Republican pro-business agenda, as has President Donald Trump, who gave Moore his endorsement this week via Twitter.

Democrats refusal to give even one vote for massive Tax Cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama. We need his vote on stopping crime, illegal immigration, Border Wall, Military, Pro Life, V.A., Judges 2nd Amendment and more. No to Jones, a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2017

It isn't just the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail that's seeing some backlash, though. Comments from the public related to the campaign succeeded in crashing the contact page for the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama.

Heather New, the 2018 incoming chair for the association's board of directors, said misinformation on social media outlets has led some to believe the association endorsed one of the candidates in the Senate race. She did not say which one, but that people were encouraged to contact the CCAA "to voice opposition to a U.S. Senate candidate."

"The volume of responses received has triggered the 'Contact Us' page's server security, as it is unable to ascertain if the responses are legitimate individuals or a 'web crawler' program," she said. The volume of messages crashed the page, making it intermittently accessible for several days, she said.

The page now posts a message saying the association "is a non-partisan, non-political professional association that does not endorse candidates for any elected position. If you have been provided information that indicates otherwise, please assist us in correcting this misinformation."

New said misleading information about endorsements "can be detrimental to development efforts."

The potential fallout

How detrimental might the prospect of Sen. Roy Moore be? Not everyone agrees.

John Jahera, a professor of finance at Auburn University, said recent history offers a few examples.

Earlier this year, the Associated Press estimated the economic impact of North Carolina's controversial "bathroom bill" at $3.76 billion to the state. The bill blocks legal protections for gay and transgender people and requires transgender people in government facilities to use bathrooms matching the sex on their birth certificate.

That figure was arrived at by calculating the impact of canceled relocations, conventions, projects, concerts and sporting events. One was Paypal backing out of plans to expand a center in Charlotte.

But Jahera said it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how a state law can impact the economy, even more so if you're talking about a single person.

"I don't think that the business world will change their views of Alabama strictly on the basis of one individual being elected to the U.S. Senate," he said. "I'm not saying there's one company that wouldn't be affected, but there are so many factors at play in business decisions. A lot of it also depends on what's going on in competing states."

Currently, Alabama is reportedly one of two states being considered for a $1.6 billion automotive plant from Toyota and Mazda. The other state? North Carolina.

Bronner said the impact isn't just felt in private enterprise. Alabama also competes for military contracts. He mentioned the current drive to locate a manufacturing plant for the next generation of U.S. Air Force jet trainer in Tuskegee, a project that could mean up to 750 jobs. State officials expect to hear next spring if the Air Force lands the project here.

"The military thinks a little differently than business, because they're here for other reasons than to make a profit," he said. "But they're not that much different. They don't want any controversy with their projects."

Tim Barnett, a professor of political science and public administration at Jacksonville State University, said Moore's "public image problem is a clear liability for the state of Alabama."

"The good news is that if Roy Moore wins the special election, he fades away during the next Republican primary," he said. "The bad news is that, win or lose, Roy Moore hurts Alabama when it comes to attracting multinational corporations to the state."

Barnett said if Moore wins he could be an asset in recruiting small business to Alabama, given his position as a conservative in favor of deregulation.

'You need stability'

Bronner said he doesn't usually comment on elections, because to do so in his position would be "foolish." But the vote next week is "exceptionally important," he said.

"If the Republicans or the Democrats had a 60-vote majority, say, this wouldn't be a national story of interest," he said. "But because of the importance of that office, with the numbers the way they are, it's a much higher profile election than I can ever remember."

Bronner referenced the coverage the campaign is getting from international media as well, with stories in The Economist. He likened it to earlier controversies with Alabama's 2011 immigration law, or when the state flew the Confederate battle flag over the capitol until the early 1990s.

"You need stability to attract business because it takes a long time to get it," he said.

He referenced Airbus, which opened its Mobile plant in 2015. The first contact between the company and Alabama officials, Bronner said, happened during the first year of Gov. Bob Riley's administration, in 2003. That's more than a decade, which is usually longer than elections or administrations. But perceptions can last a long time.

He characterized the Alabama business community as concerned.

"I think they've got to be going, 'We don't need this,'" he said. "If you're in competition between two equal places, a board of directors or CEO is going to be looking at what is the most stable. They looking for some place that's not rocking and rolling, and that's clearly the case across Alabama."