Alleged child molester Roy Moore regains lead in Alabama senate poll

A series of new polls show that Alabama Republican Roy Moore may win his state’s senate election on Dec. 12 despite allegations of molesting a 14-year-old girl, forcing himself on a 16-year-old girl, and preying on several other teenage girls when he was a 30-something district attorney.

“In summary, Roy Moore has regained his lost lead,” wrote JMC Analytics and Polling alongside its poll released Wednesday morning showing Moore leading 49-44 percent over Democrat Doug Jones.

It’s a 9 point swing from earlier this month when JMC showed Jones leading 46-42 earlier in immediately following the Washington Post’s first report of Moore’s predatory behavior, which he has denied. It matches the finding of two other recent polls showing Moore rebounding. An Emerson College poll released Wednesday morning showed Moore besting Jones 53-47, and a Raycom News Network poll conducted before Thanksgiving showed Moore leading Jones 47-45.

READ: Alabama’s wealthy suburbs don’t like Roy Moore. They may vote for him anyway.

The last major public poll showing Jones ahead was conducted on November 15th, over two weeks ago. And Politico reported Wednesday that President Donald Trump is considering a last-minute endorsement of Moore to help push him over the finish line.

It’s unclear if Moore did anything strategic to regain support or if Republicans are simply rallying to his side in a deeply red state. After initially giving equivocal denials like “I don’t remember ever dating any girl without the permission of her mother,” Moore and his supporters have been attempting to label all of the reports as “fake news.”

Moore himself has been holding very few campaign events and has been shying away from any public forum where the media could talk to him. Jones, meanwhile, has been doing as many campaign events as possible while also spending millions of dollars more on advertising than Moore as national Democrats pour money into the race.

READ: People in rural Alabama still think the Roy Moore allegations are fake news

Even so, Moore appears to be gaining back support.

If he wins on Dece. 12, all eyes will turn to national Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the he believes Moore’s accusers, the national Republican Party has withdrawn its support, and Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado said that “the Senate should vote to expel” Moore if he wins.

But will they follow through, especially if Trump is supporting Moore? If the polls are right, we may have a chance to find out.