GOP/LEGAL/POLITICAL FIGURES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WOMEN: “Republicans, seeking to head off the first Senate Democratic victory in Alabama in decades, are grasping for ways to derail their nominee, Roy Moore, whose campaign has been engulfed by allegations of sexual misconduct.
President Donald Trump spoke on the phone from Vietnam with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and discussed how to manage the crisis, the senator said. Mr. McConnell, who has been spearheading the effort to block Mr. Moore, said Tuesday he wants Attorney General Jeff Sessions to return to his home state to reclaim the seat.
The Republican National Committee cut financial ties to Mr. Moore, and the Alabama GOP is considering an array of options to dislodge Mr. Moore and still hold the seat.
Strategists in both parties are reacting to a prospect that appeared remote just a couple of weeks ago: Democratic candidate Doug Jones could win in the reliably Republican state.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which had rated the seat solidly in GOP hands, Tuesday declared it a toss-up. Republicans concede that Mr. Jones, a former U.S. attorney, could win as Mr. Moore’s campaign is dogged by nearly a half-dozen reports of sexual assault and misconduct involving teenagers while he was in his 30s. He has denied the allegations.”
-Janet Hook and Siobhan Hughes, “Republicans Seek to Derail Roy Moore and Salvage Senate Seat,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 14, 2017 10:37pm