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Trump urges Moore to concede Alabama Senate race

Republican Roy Moore arrives on stage to speak about the race against his Democratic opponent Doug Jones, December 12, 2017, Montgomery, Alabama. (Photo by AFP)

President Donald Trump is urging Roy Moore to concede, as the defiant Republican candidate for the US Senate refuses to admit defeat to Democrat Doug Jones.

Moore, who has been accused of sexually assaulting and pursuing teenage girls decades ago, lost Alabama's special Senate election by more than 20,000 votes on Tuesday.

"I think he should," Trump told reporters on Friday, when asked whether Moore should concede. "He tried. I want to support, always, I want to support the person running. We need the seat. We would like to have the seat."

Despite allegations of sexual misconduct, Trump had officially endorsed Moore and even campaigned for him in Florida.

A defiant Moore told supporters on Friday that the battle for the Alabama Senate seat was "not over."

Moore emailed supporters asking them to contribute to his "election integrity fund” so he could look into reports of voter fraud.

The disgraced former judge said the race was “close” and some military and provisional ballots had not been counted yet.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said it was unlikely that the last-minute ballots would change the outcome of the election or necessitate a recount. "There's not a whole lot of mistakes that are made," Merrill said.

A decision on whether to launch a recount will be made after counties report their official totals sometime between December 26, and January 3.

Moore's decision not to concede the election puts him at odds with most of his party. The Alabama Republican Party, which supported Moore despite the allegations made against him, has declared Jones the winner.

Moore’s campaign was at the center of a national debate about sexual misconduct that has forced multiple powerful men in the worlds of politics, media and entertainment to resign.  

Meanwhile, calls are growing on Capitol Hill for President Trump to resign over sexual assault and harassment allegations leveled against him. Several Democratic senators cited the resignation of Senator Al Franken in the face of the harassment allegations as an increased impetus for the president to do the same.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen on Thursday joined Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden, Cory Booker, Mazie Hirono and Bernie Sanders to call for the president's resignation.

A majority of American voters also believe Trump should resign due to the allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him by several women, according to new surveys.

Early this week, three of Trump’s accusers urged Congress to investigate the misconduct allegations against the president. At least 15 women have accused Trump of unwanted sexual advances, including forcible kissing or groping.


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