On April 30th, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore held a press conference to announce he was filing a lawsuit against four women who accused him of sexual misconduct. The women–Leigh Corfman, Debbie Gibson, Tina Johnson, and Beverly Nelson– made public statements in 2017 claiming that Moore pursued romantic relationships with them while they were teenagers. Moore filed the lawsuit in the circuit court where he resides in Etowah County, Alabama.
During the press conference, a reporter asked Moore if he intended to run for office again. Moore said, “I have no plans at this time for running for anything.” The reporter followed up and asked Moore if this included running for Governor. Moore said, “No.”
Moore said the Associated Press sent out a story and misquoted him as saying he would never run for anything again. He clarified his response in a release, saying, “I have no plans at this time to run for office. Nevertheless, plans change. If the opportunity arises to make a difference, I will have no reluctance to again run for political office, including that of Governor.
Moore ran for the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last year. He won the Republican Primary and appeared to be poised for victory in the general election before the allegations of past misconduct plagued his campaign. He lost to the Democratic candidate Doug Jones.
Moore will be sitting out this year’s Governor’s race in Alabama, in which Governor Kay Ivey will run as an incumbent since she assumed the office after Robert Bentley resigned amid a public scandal. Moore will be 75-years-old should he decide to run in 2022.
Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Publication date: May 3, 2018
