WASHINGTON — A Republican fundraising group chaired by Colorado’s Cory Gardner no longer will raise money with Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore — a rejection that comes a day after The Washington Post published allegations of Moore’s sexual misconduct with a minor.
According to paperwork filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission, the Gardner-led group — officially known as the National Republican Senatorial Committee — has withdrawn from a joint fundraising effort with Moore’s campaign.
An NRSC spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a question as to why the NRSC exited the arrangement. But Gardner on Thursday called on Moore to leave the race if, as The Washington Post story alleged, Moore molested a 14-year-old girl when he was 32.
Moore has denied the accusation.
The NRSC’s withdrawal from the joint fundraising group is the latest twist in the committee’s rollercoaster relationship with Moore.
Gardner and the NRSC initially supported U.S. Sen. Luther Strange in Alabama’s Senate race, but after Moore beat Strange in a heated Republican primary, Gardner came out in support of Moore and the NRSC teamed up with his campaign to raise money ahead of the coming Dec. 12 election.
But that truce seems to have fallen apart in the aftermath of The Post story.