- The Washington Times - Sunday, December 3, 2017

A new poll shows Alabamians who are likely to vote for Senate candidate Roy Moore don’t believe the accusations of sexual misconduct against him.

Likely Republican voters overwhelmingly believe the allegations against Mr. Moore are false, according to the CBS poll released Sunday. Seventy-one percent say they don’t believe the women who have come forward, compared to 17 percent who say they do.

Among Republicans who say they don’t believe the allegations, 92 percent say Democrats are behind the charges and 88 percent say the media are.

Several women have come forward to accuse Mr. Moore of inappropriately touching or pursuing relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was an adult. One of the accusers, Leigh Corfman, told The Washington Post she was 14 and Mr. Moore was 32 when he touched her over her underpants and guided her hand to touch him over his underwear.

Mr. Moore, 70, has denied any wrongdoing.

Fifty-three percent of Republican voters say they are concerned by the allegations, but say other aspects of the race are more important to them. One-third say the allegations are of no concern.

Less than half of Mr. Moore’s supporters, 48 percent, say they’re voting for him because he’s the “best person for the job.” They’re more likely to vote for him because he’ll “cast conservative votes” (52 percent) and support the president’s agenda (49 percent).

Among Mr. Moore’s supporters, President Trump has a 96 percent approval rating.

The CBS poll shows the outcome of the Senate race could turn on turnout.

Mr. Moore, a former judge, leads Democrat Doug Jones, a former federal prosecutor, 49 percent to 43 percent among likely voters, according to the poll. But when the data are expanded to include all registered voters, the contest is even.

Just 9 percent of Republicans polled say they’re voting for Mr. Jones.

The CBS News poll surveyed 1,067 registered voters in Alabama from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. It has a margin of error of 3.8 percent for the entire sample and 4.8 percent among likely voters.

• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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