Op-ed: Roy Moore and Alabama voters

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said this week he believes the accounts of the women who have accused Roy Moore sexual misconduct of varying kinds. McConnell added that Moore — the former Alabama Supreme Court Judge — should drop out of the Alabama senate race.

MPR News host Kerri Miller talked with Eric Velasco, an Alabama journalist whose article, "Why Alabamans are Defending Roy Moore," was just published in Politico. Velesco has covered Moore since he was a judge in Alabama. In his article, he wrote the following:

"Partisanship often overrides religious or moral values in Alabama — which largely accounts for the divergent responses to Moore's scandal in the state versus the rest of the country. But that also makes Moore's case an interesting litmus test for Alabama, amid a national outing of sexual abusers in entertainment, government and the media. Will the state stand by a man who promises policies that much of the electorate wants and who holds similar religious views, or will it abandon him?"

Use the audio player above to hear the full segment.