WASHINGTON — National Republican Committee Chairman Cory Gardner declared in a statement Thursday that if sexual conduct allegations against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore are true, Moore should drop out.
“If these allegations are found to be true, Roy Moore must drop out of the Alabama special Senate election,” Gardner said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Gardner’s statement and others within the conference saying earlier, “If these allegations are true, he must step aside.”
Four women alleged Moore had inappropriate interactions with them when they were teenagers, The Washington Post reported Thursday. Leigh Corfman, one of the women, claims hat she and Moore had a sexual encounter when she was just 14 in 1979. Moore was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney at the time.
Moore denied the accusations, calling it “fake news.” His campaign also called the charges “completely false.”
“This garbage is the very definition of fake news and intentional defamation,” Moore campaign chairman Bill Armistead said in a statement.
Moore is running for the open Alabama Senate seat against Democrat Doug Jones, which was vacated by Jeff Sessions who now serves as Attorney General.