With Less Than Two Weeks to Go, Roy Moore Surges Ahead in Poll

Despite the sexual misconduct allegations against Roy Moore, the anti-LGBT Republican leads Democrat Doug Jones by five percentage points in a new poll on Alabama's special election for U.S. senator.

The poll by JMC Analytics, conducted Monday and Tuesday, shows 48 percent of respondents preferring Moore and 43 percent choosing Jones. Jones was up by four points in the previous poll, conducted shortly after the allegations came out, "so the new survey appears to indicate Moore's candidacy is on the rebound," The Hill reports. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The polling organization agrees. "In summary, Roy Moore has regained his lost lead," says JMC's summary of the findings. "While the race is not a certainty for him, the solidification of existing partisan preferences benefits his campaign." Alabama is a heavily Republican state, and a majority of those polled approve of Donald Trump's performance as president, the pollster notes.

Several women have said Moore, now 70, pursued relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his early 30s. One said he removed her clothes and touched her in a sexual manner when she was just 14. Another said he sexually assaulted her when she was 16. Moore has denied all the allegations.

Moore is well-known for his archconservative stances, opposing LGBT rights, abortion rights, "socialized" health care, and gun restrictions. He was removed as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for ethics violations related to his efforts to block marriage equality in the state. He had been removed from the court once before, for refusing to take down a Ten Commandments monument at the state courthouse; a federal court had declared the monument an unconstitutional establishment of religion.

The special election will be held December 12 to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he became U.S. attorney general. Luther Strange has been serving as interim senator, but he lost to Moore in the Republican primary.