Alabama votes in high stakes Senate race
Voters in southern state are voting in highly anticipated election that could upset balance of power in the US Senate.
Published On 12 Dec 2017
Voters in Alabama are going to the polls in a highly anticipated election that could upset the balance of power in the US Senate.
Republican Roy Moore, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, and Democrat Doug Jones are reportedly neck and neck in the Republican-dominated southern state.
Keep reading
list of 4 itemsFull jury panel seated on third day of Trump’s New York hush-money trial
Jacob Zuma’s nine lives: How South Africa’s ex-president keeps coming back
A flash flood and a quiet sale highlight India’s Sikkim’s hydro problems
Polls opened in the Alabama election on Tuesday morning.
Several women have accused Moore of harassment. One alleges she was 14 years old when she was molested and he was in his 30s. Another woman says Moore tried to rape her.
Moore, who is now 70, denies the charges, telling voters they already know his character.
Last week, Moore was ahead by a narrow margin in the special race for Alabama’s senate seat but damning new allegations of sexual harassment against him threaten his candidacy.
Jones said decency must prevail and accused Moore of hiding during the election campaign.
He urged Alabama voters to see the race as a crossroads with an opportunity to avoid repeating past mistakes that harm the state’s image.
No Democrat has won an Alabama Senate seat since Senator Richard Shelby in 1992.
Shelby, who is now a Republican, says he did not vote for Moore in the past.
On Monday, on the eve of the election, US President Donald Trump recorded an audio message in support of Moore.
Trump reaffirmed his support for the Republican candidate on Tuesday, tweeting that “Moore will always vote with us”.
The people of Alabama will do the right thing. Doug Jones is Pro-Abortion, weak on Crime, Military and Illegal Immigration, Bad for Gun Owners and Veterans and against the WALL. Jones is a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet. Roy Moore will always vote with us. VOTE ROY MOORE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
Trump has been facing criticism after he first publicly endorsed Moore earlier this month, despite the accusations of sexual misconduct.
The president himself has been accused of harassment.
This week, Trump has faced renewed calls for him to resign over the allegations.
Democratic lawmakers and several women have demanded impartial investigations into the president’s alleged misconduct, which he has repeatedly denied.
Source: Al Jazeera