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Update: Mitt Romney Calls For Roy Moore To Drop Senate Bid, Sen. Lee Pulls Endorsement

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Mitt Romney is among a growing chorus of Republicans in Utah condemning Alabama Senate hopeful Roy Moore. Moore is under fire after the Washington Post reported that he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old when he was 32.

In a tweet, Romney said he believed the woman, Leigh Corfman, who recounted her story to the Post about Moore’s sexual advances. He said her story is “too serious to ignore" and Moore should step aside.

 

The statement was far stronger and far less equivocal than some comments by Utah’s own elected officials.

On Thursday, both Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee said if the allegations are true, that Moore should resign immediately.

 

As the scandal grew, however, Lee took to Twitter late Friday to say he could no longer support Moore's candidacy and pulled his endorsement. 

 

Lee had just last month given his full backing to Moore. He praised the controversial, evangelical Republican after he won the Alabama primary, beating a more mainstream incumbent.

Lee’s office has asked Moore to stop using his picture in a fundraising ad.

Utah Rep. Chris Stewart also echoed Hatch’s and Lee’s comments in a Tweet.

The scandal has created a massive headache for the GOP, as leaders seek to pass a sweeping overhaul of the tax code by the end of the year. Senate Republicans are also trying to maintain their two-seat majority ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

 

This story will be updated.

 

Julia joined KUER in 2016 after a year reporting at the NPR member station in Reno, Nev. During her stint, she covered battleground politics, school overcrowding, and any story that would take her to the crystal blue shores of Lake Tahoe. Her work earned her two regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Originally from the mountains of Western North Carolina, Julia graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 with a degree in journalism. She’s worked as both a print and radio reporter in several states and several countries — from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Dakar, Senegal. Her curiosity about the American West led her to take a spontaneous, one-way road trip to the Great Basin, where she intends to continue preaching the gospel of community journalism, public radio and podcasting. In her spare time, you’ll find her hanging with her beagle Bodhi, taking pictures of her food and watching Patrick Swayze movies.
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