Shifting Stance, Walker Calls For Moore To Step Aside

Gov. Scott Walker has joined Republicans calling for Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore to end his candidacy following allegations that Moore had sexual encounters with multiple teenage girls in the 1970s.

“I believe Roy Moore should step aside,” Walker said in a statement Monday night.

It was a change in stance for Walker, who gave a different answer when asked whether Moore should step aside during a weekend appearance on WISN-TV.

“If it’s true,” Walker responded in the program that aired Sunday morning, “I mean that’s the great qualifier.”

The Washington Post first reported last week that Moore initiated a sexual encounter with a girl when he was 32 and she was 14. The story was based on 30 sources and comments from four women.

Following the report, Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain and former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney were among the Republicans calling for Moore to end his campaign.

At the time of his weekend interview, Walker did not take that step.

“Maybe they’ve looked at the details more,” Walker said of McCain and Romney. “I’m more focused on Wisconsin than I am at the U.S. Senate, certainly Alabama. I’ve heard a little bit about the news, but I don’t know enough of the details to know.”

Early Monday, several Republican leaders including Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged Moore to end his campaign.

Since the original allegations surfaced, another woman has also accused Moore of assaulting her when she was a teenager.

Both of the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, Kevin Nicholson and state Sen. Leah Vukmir, told the Associated Press on Monday they stood by their statements from last week that Moore should step aside if the allegations are true.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 9:11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, to include Walker’s Monday night statement.