Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) joined Mitt Romney’s condemnation of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (R), saying that a “Moore victory is no victory for the GOP and the nation.”
“.@MittRomney is right. A Roy Moore victory is no victory for the GOP and the nation,” Flake tweeted.
{mosads}Romney, the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee, had ripped Moore just hours after President Trump endorsed the candidate on Monday.
“Roy Moore in the US Senate would be a stain on the GOP and on the nation. Leigh Corfman and other victims are courageous heroes. No vote, no majority is worth losing our honor, our integrity,” Romney tweeted.
Flake had said that he wouldn’t back Moore in the Alabama Senate special election before allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls were made against the candidate. He has doubled down on his criticism of Moore since the reports first came to light last month.
The retiring senator, a frequent critic of Trump, said that he would support the Democrat in the race over Moore and that he believes Trump has made a “big mistake” by supporting Moore.
“Yeah, I think the victims are credible, and there are a number of them,” Flake said last month. “And I think to a person in Congress, my colleagues have been saying that the accusers are a lot more credible than Roy Moore.”
The senator’s latest comment comes the same day Trump endorsed Moore in the race. Trump also called Moore on Monday, telling him, “Go get ‘em, Roy.”
The Republican National Committee reinstated its support for Moore just hours after Trump’s endorsement, after initially cutting ties with the candidate last month.
The Washington Post first reported the allegations against Moore last month, when a woman said that he initiated a sexual encounter with her in 1979, when she was 14 and he was 32.
Moore has repeatedly denied the claims.