--- title: Alabama Senate Race: Richard Shelby Did Not Vote for Roy Moore description: Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby said that he could not bring himself to vote for Republican candidate Roy Moore. canonical: https://time.com/5057803/richard-shelby-alabama-roy-moore/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-10T16:31:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:30:51.591Z article:section: Politics og:title: Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby Couldn't Bring Himself to Vote for Roy Moore og:description: "The state of Alabama deserves better" og:url: https://time.com/5057803/richard-shelby-alabama-roy-moore/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd25ac76dc2b77ad/6988f4890a4a2220d19d1044/roy-moore-richard-shelby-alabama1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1879 og:image:height: 1057 og:image:alt: roy-moore-richard-shelby-alabama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby Couldn't Bring Himself to Vote for Roy Moore twitter:description: "The state of Alabama deserves better" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd25ac76dc2b77ad/6988f4890a4a2220d19d1044/roy-moore-richard-shelby-alabama1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby Says He Couldn't Bring Himself to Vote for Roy Moore > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Dec 10, 2017 4:31 PM UTC  Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby (L) and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby (L) and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Dec 10, 2017 4:31 PM UTC Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby said on Sunday that he could not bring himself to vote for Republican candidate Roy Moore in Alabama’s upcoming Senate election. Shelby, a Republican, said he did not vote for the Democratic candidate Doug Jones, but had written in a “distinguished Republican candidate” who he did not name. “I’d rather see a Republican win, but I hope that Republican will be a write in,” Shelby [told CNN’s Jake Tapper](http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/12/10/richard-shelby-entire-state-of-the-union-interview-sotu.cnn) on _State of the Union_. “I think a lot of people could do that. Will they do that? I’m not sure.” “I couldn’t vote for Roy Moore,” he said. “The state of Alabama deserves better.” Since Nov. 9, nine women have said Moore pursued them romantically, with many saying they were in their teens and he was in his 30s. The allegations included initiating sexual contact with a 14-year-old and serving an underage teenager wine. Moore has denied all the allegations, characterizing them as politically motivated and an attack from the liberal media. [Recent polling](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/doug-jones-is-just-a-normal-polling-error-away-from-a-win-in-alabama/) shows the race, which would typically be an easy win for a Republican candidate given Alabama’s history as a conservative state, is exceedingly close. After the initial deluge of allegations, the Republican Party largely backed away from Moore, with several senators pulling their endorsements, and the Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee severing financial ties with the candidate. However, [President Donald Trump endorsed Moore](http://time.com/5047360/donald-trump-we-need-roy-moore-sexual-misconduct-allegations/) on Dec. 4, and [has recorded a robocall for him](http://time.com/5057767/trump-robocalls-moore/). After Trump’s endorsement, the Republican National Committee said [it would financially support Moore](http://time.com/5049288/rnc-supports-roy-moore-donald-trump/), and transferred $170,000 to the Alabama GOP. The NRSC, however, is still staying out of the race; the organization’s chairman, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, has said Moore should be expelled from the Senate if he wins. Shelby said that the Senate will have to determine Moore’s fitness for serving if he wins. “I understand where the president’s coming from, I understand we would like to retain that seat in the U.S. Senate,” Shelby told Tapper. “But there’s a time, we call it a tipping point. And I think so many accusations, so many cuts, so many drip drip drip — when it got to the 14-year-old story, that was enough for me. I said, ‘I can’t vote for Roy Moore.'” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5057803/richard-shelby-alabama-roy-moore/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5057803/richard-shelby-alabama-roy-moore/"},"headline":"Alabama Sen. 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