Alabama voters are increasingly skeptical of the accusations against GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore, according to new polling released this week that also shows Mr. Moore has recovered his lead in the race.
In the middle of November Mr. Moore had lost his lead in the Change Research survey of voters, but is once again back on top in a survey Monday with a 49-44 advantage, the polling company said.
Perhaps most striking is that Republicans are growing more skeptical of the accusations against Mr. Moore, including that he pursued relationships with teen girls when he was in his 30s, and made sexual advances toward one 14-year-old.
Mr. Moore denies the accusations, which were first made in The Washington Post, and has since characterized his race as a chance for voters to strike back at the political establishment.
It appears to be working.
The margin among voters who believe the allegations versus disbelieve them stands at 42-38, or almost even. Just 10 days ago, the margin was 46-30 in favor of the believers, the poll found.
An Emerson College poll released Tuesday also found Mr. Moore with a lead of 50-44.
That’s within the poll’s margin of error, and a tightening from before the allegations, when Mr. Moore held a 10-point advantage,
Emerson’s pollsters said independent voters are breaking for Mr. Jones, but undecided voters are tilting toward Mr. Moore.
Spencer Kimball, a professor at Emerson and adviser on the poll, said the numbers suggest that the allegations “aren’t going to be detrimental to the extent that many people thought it would be.”
He also said pro-life and evangelical voters are sticking with Mr. Moore.
“He still has that base of support to lean on,” Mr. Kimball said on the Emerson College Polling Weekly podcast.
Instead, it’s Mr. Trump who’s suffering among those voters, with his approval rating dropping, Mr. Kimball said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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