On December 12, 2017, a United States Senate special election in Alabama took place. The election was between democrat Doug Jones and republican Roy Moore. Considering Alabama’s history of being one of the most conservative states, it seemed obvious that Moore would win by a landslide. Surprisingly, the exact opposite happened as Jones won 49.9% to 48.4%. Although there is no obvious reason as to why a democrat would win in a conservative state, Roy Moore’s sex scandals could have had a major role in Moore’s loss.

Interestingly enough, Moore’s accusation of sexual abuse came during the time he was running against Jones. According to the Washington Post, “ On Nov. 9... four women said Mr. Moore had pursued them sexually or romantically when they were 18 or younger and he was in his 30s. One of them said that he touched her sexually when she was 14, below the state’s age of consent.” However, the accusations didn’t just stop there. The Washington Post also reported, “Over the next several days, a woman accused Mr. Moore of sexually assaulting her when she was 16, and four more women accused him of sexual misconduct or unwanted overtures.”

Moore has continued to deny these allegations made by these women and has stated numerous times that these accusations are, “yet another attack on my character and reputation in a desperate attempt to stop my political campaign for the United States Senate.” Although this may be true as there have been many similar instances such as the sexual abuse allegations that rose when Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy and led the Seminoles to a national title, there is still no clear answer as to whether Moore has committed these crimes or not.

Besides the fact that the allegations may be untrue, Moore has still been negatively impacted. Fellow republican senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said to reporters, “I believe the women, yes. I think he should step aside.” However, Senator Mitch McConnell wasn’t the only one angered by these allegations. Another republican senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, “excoriated Mr. Moore in a rare national television appearance on Sunday, telling CNN that Alabama ‘deserves better,’” according to the New York Times. These accusations are obviously detrimental to Moore’s campaign as even republican senators who share the same ideals as him believes he should not win. When looking at the polls, it can be seen that the percentage of women who favored Moore dropped 11 percent, from 47% to 36%, just after the scandal broke.

Nevertheless, it isn’t the end for Moore yet, as he states, “In this race, we have not received the final count to include military and provisional ballots. This has been a very close race, and we are awaiting certification by the secretary of state,” refusing to concede.

<Shawn Lee Portola HS 10th Grade>