Three of the women who have accused Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore of making advances on them when they were teenagers, including both of the women who have accused Moore of sexually abusing them, are reportedly Republicans.
That Moore’s alleged victims are Republicans appears to work against the Moore campaign’s defense that the accusations are made up for political purposes.
The latest accuser, Beverly Young Nelson, says both she and her husband, who is a truck driver, are Republicans and voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
When Nelson was a 16-year-old waitress, she says, Moore offered her a ride home from the restaurant where he was a regular customer. Moore was a district attorney in Alabama at the time. Shortly before Nelson turned 16, Moore is said to have written in her yearbook: “To a sweeter, more beautiful girl, I could not say Merry Christmas.” He signed it, “Love, Roy Moore, D.A.” Nelson produced the yearbook at a press conference on Monday. The signature appears to match up with Moore’s.
Roy Moore’s signature from that 1977 yearbook matches Roy Moore’s signature on his US Term Limits pledge this year. pic.twitter.com/4gQz9ytZZX
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) November 13, 2017
“My husband and I supported Donald Trump for president,” Nelson said on Monday. “This has nothing whatsoever to do with the Republicans or the Democrats. It has everything to do with Mr. Moore’s sexual assault when I was a teenager.”
The other most serious accuser, Leigh Corfman, is also a reported Trump voter.
Corfman has said that Moore took off her clothes, groped her and guided her hand to his erect penis when she was a 14-year-old girl. Corfman said she voted for the Republican candidate in the last three presidential elections.
Gloria Thacker Deason, another woman who has come forward with her account of Moore’s behavior, is also a registered Republican.
Deason has said that Moore romantically pursed her and gave her alcohol when she was 18 — below the legal drinking age — and he was an attorney in his 30s.
“She is a registered Republican, but has no affiliation with the RNC and has not been contacted by the RNC or any Republican leaders at any time,” Deason said in a statement issued through her attorney. “The same is true for the DNC and Democratic leaders. She does not know Doug Jones, has not been contacted at any point by him or anyone associated with his campaign nor made any financial contributions to him.”
Another accuser, Deborah Gibson, reportedly worked as a sign language interpreter at Clinton campaign events.
The Moore campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.