Over the next several days, a woman accused Mr. Moore of sexually assaulting her when she was 16 (read her statement here), and four more women accused him of sexual misconduct or unwanted overtures.
Mr. Moore, 70, remains defiant, trying to discredit the accusers while denying the most serious charges against him — though he has not denied that when he was in his 30s, he dated women in their teens. He has claimed that his accusers are part of a conspiracy against him, and that he is opposed by “the forces of evil who are attempting to relegate our conservative Christian values to the dustbin of history.”
On Nov. 27, The Post reported that a woman working for a conservative group had attempted to trick the newspaper into publishing false allegations against Mr. Moore, apparently in hopes of damaging The Post’s credibility.
How have Republicans reacted?
At first, President Trump remained largely silent, but he then began defending Mr. Moore and saying that voters should reject Doug Jones, the Democrat in the race. Finally, on Monday, he formally endorsed Mr. Moore.
Mr. Trump’s position has put him sharply at odds with many of his party’s national leaders, who have said that Mr. Moore should drop out of the race. Our reporters examined why Mr. Trump, who has also faced sexual harassment and assault allegations, has stood by Mr. Moore while the Alabama race split national Republicans.
Members of his administration have argued that holding on to a Republican seat in the Senate, where the party has only a narrow majority, was important for advancing the president’s agenda. The allegations against Mr. Moore have aggravated the hostility between the populist and establishment factions of the party. You can check out how Alabama party officials have staunchly defended Mr. Moore or watch a video of clips of many of his defenders.
VideoMeet Roy Moore’s Defenders
Roy S. Moore, the Senate candidate from Alabama, and his supporters are trying to discredit and diminish the mounting sexual misconduct allegations against him.
By CHRIS CIRILLO on Publish Date November 14, 2017. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images. Watch in Times Video »Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican majority leader — who has said “I believe the women” and took the stand for weeks that Mr. Moore should drop out of the race, on Sunday that the race was for the people of Alabama to decide. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, a fund-raising arm of the national party, severed its ties with Mr. Moore.
Mr. McConnell’s colleagues have discussed the possibility that, if Mr. Moore is elected, he could be subjected to an ethics investigation, or even expelled from the Senate. But the intensity of that talk has faded to some extent as the election has approached.
National party leaders discussed a possible write-in campaign by a prominent Republican — possibly Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who held the seat previously, or Luther Strange, who was appointed to replace Mr. Sessions but lost to Mr. Moore in the primary.
Neither man has jumped in, but a little-known write-in candidate has emerged: Lee Busby, a retired Marine colonel. In a tight race, any votes he draws away from Mr. Moore might affect the outcome.
What do voters think?
Mr. Moore’s solid lead in voter surveys evaporated just after the scandal broke, but his poll numbers ut his have edged upward again since then.
Standing in Mr. Jones’s way, our Alabama team reported, is the deeply negative view of Democrats that is held even by many Alabamians who dislike Mr. Moore.
After the allegations emerged, our reporters in Alabama interviewed women in a Birmingham suburb. Few were fans of Mr. Moore, but many felt he had a good chance of being elected anyway. Our reporters also talked with residents in Gadsden, his hometown: To them, he was more divisive than ever.
At recent church services, we found mixed feelings about Mr. Moore among parishioners, while pastors steered clear of the subject. We also examined Mr. Moore’s combative history, which has won him passionate fans and detractors.
Nate Cohn, an elections analyst for The Upshot, took a look at how Mr. Jones might fare, and how the race tests the limits of party loyalty in what might be the most Republican state in the county. You can check out the latest polls on the race at RealClearPolitics.
How are Democrats responding?
Mr. Jones used the allegations to attack Mr. Moore head-on in this campaign ad that quotes Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, as well as Mr. Sessions.
National Democratic organizations and the party’s most prominent figures have largely steered clear of the race, acutely aware of how unpopular they are in such a conservative state, our political correspondents reported. That has left Mr. Jones, a former federal prosecutor, to mostly to go it alone in this race, and he is relying heavily on turnout by black voters.
We took a closer look at him in September, and you can read our 2001 profile on him.
What is Mr. Moore’s relationship with his party?
The national Republican Party has never embraced Mr. Moore, and the feeling is mutual — he has railed against Mr. McConnell as a creature of a malevolent Washington establishment. During the Republican primary, Mr. McConnell and Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Strange. Mr. Moore beat him handily in a runoff.
Mr. Moore has courted controversy for years, making incendiary comments about gays, Islam and race, and portraying himself as a defender of Christianity under siege in America. Even some of his fellow conservative officials in Alabama are wary of him, and he was twice removed from office as the state’s highest judge. Read some of our reporting on both cases.
An earlier version of this article misstated the number of seats Republicans hold in the Senate. It is 52, not 54.
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