--- ---  # 'That's Not Right.' Jeff Flake Won't Endorse GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Oct 27, 2017 12:52 AM UTC  Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) is interviewed at Russell Senate Office Building on Oct. 24, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) is interviewed at Russell Senate Office Building on Oct. 24, 2017 in Washington, D.C.Matt McClain—The Washington Post/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Oct 27, 2017 12:52 AM UTC Republican Arizona Sen. [Jeff Flake](http://time.com/4995650/arizona-jeff-flake-retire-donald-trump-republican-party/) — who announced in an [impassioned speech](http://time.com/4995730/jeff-flake-senate-speech-donald-trump-republican-transcript/) on Tuesday that he would not seek reelection in 2018 — said he will not support the GOP candidate for Senate in Alabama. When asked by reporters, Flake said Thursday that he would not support [Republican candidate Roy Moore.](http://time.com/4989044/roy-moore-how-could-disrupt-trump-gop/) “A guy who says that a Muslim member of Congress shouldn’t be able to serve? That’s not right,” he said, according to a [video published by the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/flake-says-he-wont-endorse-moore/2017/10/26/d3790748-ba74-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22%5Fvideo.html?utm%5Fterm=.8b72b6f6f0a9). In 2006, Moore called out Rep. Keith Ellison after the Muslim Congressman took his oath on the Quaran, adding that Islam is “directly contrary to the principles of the Constitution.” Moore [has called](http://time.com/4953360/alabama-senate-race-roy-moore-quotes/) Islam a “false religion” and said, “homosexual conduct should be illegal.” He [won the Republican primary](http://time.com/4958583/roy-moore-luther-strange-alabama-senate-run-off-donald-trump/) in Alabama last month and is now favored to win the general election to fill the Senate seat vacated by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Flake, who criticized the direction of the Republican Party in his speech, is the only GOP Senator to speak out against Moore, who recently received endorsements from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Jeff Flake Won't Endorse Alabama Senate Candidate Roy Moore ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4999724/jeff-flake-roy-moore-endorsement-muslim-congress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4999724/jeff-flake-roy-moore-endorsement-muslim-congress/"},"headline":"'That's Not Right.' Jeff Flake Won't Endorse GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore","datePublished":"2017-10-27T00:52:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:01:20.797Z","description":"Flake criticized Moore's comments about Muslim politicians","url":"https://time.com/4999724/jeff-flake-roy-moore-endorsement-muslim-congress/","keywords":["Senate","Congress","alabama","Arizona","Roy Moore","Jeff Flake","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37c8ab289cda4421/6988e3a1656a3f31afbd2400/jeff-flake-roy-moore.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37c8ab289cda4421/6988e3a1656a3f31afbd2400/jeff-flake-roy-moore.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Feature - Washington, DC","caption":"Feature - Washington, DC","creditText":"Matt McClain—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/senate/","name":"Senate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4999724/jeff-flake-roy-moore-endorsement-muslim-congress/","name":"'That's Not Right.' Jeff Flake Won't Endorse GOP Senate Candidate Roy Moore"}}]}] ```