Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) said Friday she still plans to vote for GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, despite the mounting sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him.
“I believe in the Republican Party, what we stand for, and most important, we need to have a Republican in the United States Senate to vote on things like the Supreme Court justices, other appointments the Senate has to confirm and make major decisions,” Ivey said at a Thanksgiving turkey pardon event, according to AL.com. “So that’s what I plan to do, vote for Republican nominee Roy Moore.”
Ivey also told reporters she had no reason to disbelieve the allegations against Moore.
“I certainly have no reason to disbelieve any of them,” she said. “The timing is a little curious. But at the same time, I have no reason to disbelieve them.”
{mosads}Ivey said earlier this week that she wouldn’t change her vote and would “hold [her] judgement until we get more of the facts” following allegations that Moore had a sexual encounter with a minor when he was in his 30s.
Multiple women have accused Moore of sexual misconduct in recent weeks, including one woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 16 and another who said Moore initiated a sexual encounter with her when she was 14 and he was 32.
Moore has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated and pointing to his 40 year career.
Republican leaders in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have called on Moore to exit the race, and the Republican National Committee cut off fundraising ties to Moore’s campaign this week.
But Moore has vowed he won’t step down from the race, instead calling on McConnell to step down.
On Thursday, Ivey shot down the option to delay the special election in December that had been floated by advisers to McConnell.