Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) (Photo: Screen grab/CBS "Face the Nation")

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Susan Collins, a liberal Maine Republican, said on Sunday she's disappointed that the Republican Party has resumed its support for Roy Moore, who's running for a U.S. Senate seat in the special election that takes place on Tuesday.



But she also questioned whether the Senate should overturn the will of the people, if Alabama voters send Moore to Washington tomorrow.





"I would point out that I did not support Mr. Moore even prior to these allegations of sexual misconduct because I was concerned about his anti-Muslim comments, his anti-LGBT comments," Collins told CBS's "Face the Nation."

"And also, most important of all, he's been removed twice from the Alabama Supreme Court for failure to follow lawful judicial orders."



Host John Dickerson noted that President Trump also was accused of sexual harassment by at least a dozen women before he was elected president: "With the president, there were these accusations," Dickerson said. "They were adjudicated in the election, the White House says. So the voters knew about them, and they voted for him. And now he's president.



"Why wouldn't that same standard apply to Roy Moore? The voters of Alabama know exactly what has been alleged. If he gets elected, what business does Senate have telling the voters they're wrong?" Dickerson asked Collins:



"Well, I think that's the tough question," Collins responded. "If the allegations are known prior to the election, which they weren't in the case of Al Franken, for example, then we have a very tough decision to make about whether it's our role as senators to overturn the will of the people.



"Now, I think it's a different situation if the allegations are not known or if they occur while the person is sitting in the Senate."



Collins said there's a "new awakening" in the country about the "pervasive" problem of sexual harassment, "whether we're talking about Hollywood or Wall Street or the media or Capitol Hill. And that's why I'm joining a bipartisan group of senators who are trying to look at our own procedures on Capitol Hill to assure that allegations of sexual misconduct involving members or staff are dealt with seriously."



At a news conference last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would have no option but to swear in Moore if he's elected, "based on a 1969 Supreme Court decision" that says the only criteria for being seated in the Senate is whether a person meets the standard set out in the Constitution.



But McConnell also said if Moore is elected, "I think he would immediately have an issue with the Ethics Committee which they would take up."