Moore raising money with ‘defeat the elite’ campaign

Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore, who for nearly a month has been plagued by a sexual misconduct scandal, is raising money with a campaign titled “defeat the elite,” an apparent response to multiple Republicans donating to his opponent, Democrat Doug Jones.

“The NEVER TRUMP ARMY is waging war against our campaign,” Moore wrote on Twitter.

“Mitch McConnell, Jeff Flake, Mitt Romney and now Pro-Hillary @Evan_McMullin‘s SuperPAC has launched a 134K ad campaign attacking me on the air in Alabama,” he added, referencing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Republican Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and former Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin.

The NEVER TRUMP ARMY is waging war against our campaign.

Mitch McConnell, Jeff Flake, Mitt Romney and now Pro-Hillary @Evan_McMullin‘s SuperPAC has launched a 134K ad campaign attacking me on the air in Alabama.

SEND THEM A MESSAGE! Chip In HERE: https://t.co/ig9d3KOKn4

— Judge Roy Moore (@MooreSenate) December 7, 2017

Moore urged his followers to “send them a message” by making a donation on a webpage that reads “defeat the elite” under his campaign slogan. The website shows that the campaign has raised more than $210,000.

Moore, during his campaign, has often railed against the so-called Republican establishment, but the new effort comes after multiple Republicans said they contributed to Jones’s campaign in an effort to stop Moore from being elected to the United States Senate. {mosads}

Flake, earlier this week, posted a photo of a $100 check made out to Jones’s campaign, invoking the phrase “country over party.” John Weaver, a former strategist for Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign, and Tim Miller, a former spokesman for Jeb Bush, have also said they contributed to Jones.  

Stand Up Republic, a political action committee affiliated with McMullin and his former running mate, Mindy Finn, spent $134,000 on ads this week against Moore in Alabama, Federal Election Commission records show.

Moore has remained defiant in the face of sexual misconduct accusations, which center on him allegedly making sexual advances toward teenagers when he was in his 30s. Moore has denied the allegation that in 1979 he initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl, but admitted in an interview last month that he may have dated women in their later teens at that point in his life.

While multiple Republican senators initially called for Moore to step aside in the wake of the allegations, the general demeanor of the GOP has recently shifted. McConnell has said the election is in the hands of the Alabama voters.

But President Trump provided Moore with a full-throated endorsement this week, a move which helped bring the Republican National Committee (RNC) back into the fold. Hours after Trump said he supported Moore’s bid, the RNC reinstated its fundraising agreement with Moore’s campaign.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, has reportedly maintained that it will not endorse Moore in the race. The campaign arm cut fundraising ties with Moore’s campaign last month.

Moore is scheduled to face off against Jones in the Tuesday special election for the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.