What's behind Alabama GOP's reaction to Roy Moore allegations? 2018 primaries

Brian Lyman | Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser

Show Caption Hide Caption Roy Moore's campaign wants to analyze one of his accuser's yearbooks The embattled campaign of Alabama Senate Republican candidate Roy Moore responded to one of his accusers allegations of sexual assault with a desire to verify a piece of evidence she used in coming forward.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — While national Republicans have worked hard to distance themselves from Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore, Alabama Republicans have met allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with teenagers in the late 1970s by staying put, or getting closer.

The public reactions from Alabama GOP officials to the accusers range from silence to outrage over the reporting, with three Republican county chairs telling the Toronto Star they would still consider voting for Moore if the allegations were true.

For the silent ones — who include House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, a Republican from Monrovia, Ala., and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, a Republican from Anniston, Ala. — the reasons vary. Officials and political observers say they range from a desire to watch future developments in the story to fear of electoral consequences in next year’s primaries.

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“In general, nobody wants to step up and get their head lopped off,” said David Mowery, a Montgomery political consultant who has worked on Democratic and Republican campaigns. “Whether it’s their electoral future or getting blasted in the media for the next month.”

Four women told the Washington Post last week that Moore, an assistant district attorney in Etowah County, Ala., from 1977 to 1982, pursued relationships with them when they were teenagers. One, Leigh Corfman, said she was 14 when Moore, then 32, took her to his house one night in 1979, undressed her and guided her hand to the outside of his underpants. The legal age of consent in Alabama, then and now, is 16. The Post had 30 sources in its story corroborating the accounts.

On Monday, a fifth accuser, Beverly Nelson, said she was 16 when Moore offered her a ride home from a restaurant she worked at in 1977. Nelson said Moore sexually assaulted her, groping her and grabbed her by the neck in an attempt to pull her face to her crotch.

In a story published on al.com Wednesday, a sixth woman, Tina Johnson, said Moore grabbed her rear end while she was visiting his law office on legal business in 1991. Johnson said Moore, who was married at the time, flirted with her and made her uncomfortable.

Two other women told The Washington Post on Wednesday they were young women when Moore courted them as a district attorney in his 30s.

Moore has called the allegations “completely false;” threatened to sue the Post and other media organizations reporting the allegations and said he did not know Corfman or Nelson. Speaking in Jackson, Ala., on Tuesday evening, Moore vowed to stay in the race.

“After 40-something years of fighting this battle, I’m now facing allegations and that’s all the press wants to talk about, but I want to talk about the issue, I want to talk about where this country is going and if we don’t come back to God, we’re not going anywhere,” he said.

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The women have stood by their accounts, and attorneys for both Nelson and Gloria Deason, who said Moore purchased wine for her when she was 18, below the legal drinking age at the time, say their clients are willing to testify under oath.

One prominent conservative voice — Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity — eased off on Moore on Wednesday. On his Tuesday evening show, Hannity gave Moore 24 hours to explain "inconsistencies" in his response to allegations of child molestation or else exit the Alabama race.

Moore responded in a letter Wednesday: "I adamantly deny the allegations of Leigh Corfman and Beverly Nelson, did not date underage girls, and have taken steps to begin a civil action for defamation. Because of that, at the direction of counsel, I cannot comment further."

Polls taken since the Post story published have shown the race tightening between Moore and Democratic nominee Doug Jones. The general election is Dec. 12. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Monday that Moore should "seriously consider dropping out" of the race.

Publicly, Republican officials in Alabama who have spoken out on the allegations have been supportive of Moore. A GOP group in north Alabama on Tuesday urged the Alabama Republican Party — which as of Wednesday morning had made no official statement on the allegations — to reaffirm its support for Moore. Noah Wahl, chairman of the Limestone County Republican Party, said in an interview Wednesday he supported Moore.

“We’re talking about a he-said-she-said,” he said. “I know not everyone agrees with him, but I believe he’s always proven himself to be trustworthy and honest.”

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While the state party has not said anything official, Alabama Republican Party chair Terry Lathan on Sunday warned that any Republican who endorsed Jones or a write-in candidate — an idea floated by national Republicans — could lose ballot access in future GOP primaries. Wahl said he would expect any Republican who spoke out against Moore to face consequences.

“If you have an elected Republican who comes out against a Republican nominee before an election, I think that would be damaging to the career of that person,” he said.

The chief fear is that Moore’s base would remember such an attack, and flock to an opponent ahead of next June’s primaries. It’s a fear Alabama consultants, both Democratic and Republican, consider rational for GOP officials.

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“There’s no doubt Roy Moore voters are the conservative base of the Republican Party,” said Lance Hyche, a Republican consultant. “When you look at those voters, they’re going to be the base for the 2018 elections.”

Hyche and Angi Horn Stalnaker, a Republican consultant, said some Republicans were staying quiet out of a policy of not getting involved in other people’s elections, but also because of an uncertainty about “what tomorrow will bring.”

“There is, without doubt, an undercurrent in Alabama, that whatever happens there is a large contingent of voters who always believe him,” said Stalnaker. “If you step out against Roy Moore, those voters will never forgive you.”

Moore’s voters are not the entire GOP electorate, though, and Moore in the past has struggled in nonjudicial statewide elections. Despite leading some early polls, in 2006 he got just 33% of the vote in the GOP gubernatorial primary against incumbent Gov. Bob Riley. In 2010, facing six other opponents for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, Moore finished fourth, pulling in 19% of the vote.

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Moore won re-election as chief justice in 2012, but got just 52% of the vote in a year when Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got 60% of the Alabama vote.

“The idea that Moore is some sort of electoral juggernaut is not borne out by what we’ve seen in Alabama,” said Zac McCrary, a Democratic pollster with Anzalone Liszt Grove Research in Montgomery. “Every time Moore has tried to advance his career beyond the courts, he’s lost.”

Still, there’s also a knowledge that Moore enjoys a loyal following that few politicians anywhere can match.

“He’s got 50% of hardest core voters,” Mowery said. “I think they’re right to be worried.”

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Brian Lyman on Twitter: @lyman_brian

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