Republicans in the Senate are “dead set” against former judge Roy Moore becoming the GOP nominee to run against Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, The Hill reports.
Moore lost to Jones in the 2017 special election following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct from women who accused him of inappropriate behavior when they were teenagers and he was in his 30’s. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at the time that he “believe[s] the women,” and that Moore should “step aside.”
McConnell has said that the GOP lost important races in the 2018 midterm elections because the party “lost college graduates and women in the suburbs,” two demographics where Jones greatly outperformed Moore.
Senior officials in the Senate GOP say that it’d be a disaster if Moore, who is currently polling at the top of the field of potential Republican candidates, were to become the party’s nominee.
“It would be the top priority, making sure he didn’t win the primary,” said one unnamed Senate Republican strategist. “I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
“There’s no way on earth Roy Moore can be handed the nomination so he can turn around and give the seat back to Democrats. This is a seat that belongs in the hands of Alabama Republicans, not Democrats,” a second Senate GOP strategist said.