Amid more serious allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls against Alabama senatorial candidate Roy Moore, the Republican National Committee has officially pulled its support, breaking with a joint fundraising agreement with the candidate and canceling its field program as a growing number of Republicans call for him to step aside.
After The Washington Post presented allegations by four women that Moore had made sexual or romantic advances to them in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when they were teens ranging from 14 to 18 and he was in his early 30s, some in the Republican Party began to call for him to pull out of the race. Those calls became overwhelming after another accuser came forward on Monday, alleging that Moore had sexually assaulted her in a car when she was 16 years old. That allegation was leveled the same day that yet another report detailed Moore’s alleged inappropriate behavior with teens in Gadsden, Alabama.
Now, a senior party official told Politico that the RNC has decided to pull the plug on Moore ahead of the December 12 special election, pulling out of the joint fundraising agreement and withdrawing its dozen or so paid canvassers who were working with Moore’s campaign. “It will no longer transfer any money to the race,” Politico reports.
As the RNC officially withdraws support, several prominent Republicans have either pulled their endorsement or outright called on Moore to step aside. On Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) issued a statement announcing that he has withdrawn his support “so long as these allegations remain unrefuted.” The same day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) called for Moore to withdraw. Moore, however, has signaled that he has every intention of finishing the race.
Even before the first allegations broke last week, Politico notes, internal RNC polling showed that Moore was already in some trouble, leading his Democratic opponent by only two points. As The Daily Wire has highlighted, polling data since the scandal broke shows a very tight race. A few polls give Democrat Doug Jones as much as a four-point lead, while a poll conducted Monday found Moore still leading by six points.