Fairhope, Alabama(CNN) Roy Moore is forcing Alabama Republicans to ask themselves some tough questions.
Accusations that the Republican nominee for a US Senate seat from Alabama pursued relationships with teenagers, molested a 14-year-old and sexually assaulted a 16-year-old when he was in his 30s have thrown Tuesday's special election race into chaos.
Republican leadership in Capitol Hill, the Republican National Committee and the White House for a time appeared to dump his candidacy -- but now President Donald Trump, as well as party resources, are firmly back behind Moore, a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court, and his supporters predict a win.
"I think we're going to see Roy Moore win pretty handily in Baldwin County," local Republican activist Matthew Brown told CNN. "I think we're going to see a lower turnout than normal, but I think we're still going to see folks come to the polls, even folks who don't like the situation."
Alabama voters struggle with support for Roy Moore
Leslie Goldberg, 62, of Fairhope, AL - "I'm not going to vote for Roy Moore, at all. For obvious reasons. So all that's left is Doug Jones, who is of course a Democrat. And then there's a lot of things I don't like about him either, but what's the worst of two evils?"
Candy Williams, of Fort Morgan, AL, said she didn't question the accusations against Roy Moore - "Do you think that woman wanted all of her business out in the middle of the news? No." Williams, who says she thinks President Donald Trump is doing well, has mixed feelings about his endorsement of Moore: "I've lost a lot of heart in what's right and what's wrong and it's all pretty much gray right now."
Isaiah Phyritz, 21, is chairman of the Baldwin County Young Republicans, a group that has reaffirmed its support for Roy Moore - "We certainly don't need to have any, you know, Washington outsiders or Washington insiders or people from outside the state of Alabama and in the media trying to influence our election," Phyritz told CNN, while acknowledging that many Alabama voters are struggling with how to vote. "I think there are a lot of undecideds who are just like, 'I typically vote Republican but I don't know what I'm going to do this election cycle.' "
Jimmy Babb, 51, who was born and raised in Fairhope, said he would support Roy Moore even though he was uncomfortable with the candidate - "For someone to bring up something that happened to someone 40 years ago, I would hate to think any of us are judged by something we did that long ago," Babb told CNN. "I don't know. Dating young girls, I still have a tough time with it. I wish we had better options." His stepson, Dylan Williams, wasn't sure he would vote, ""I don't even know if I want to vote. None of the options really seem appealing enough."
Margaret Jacob, 81, lives in Daphne and said she considers herself an independent and will vote for Doug Jones even though she usually votes Republican." "I think you need to vote or you can't complain."
Steve Heath, 69, and Susan Daniel, 66, of Fish River, AL, say they will vote for Doug Jones and consider themselves moderates - "The sad thing is right now if you say you're Republican you're automatically lumped on the far right and if you say you're Democrat you're automatically lumped on the far left. It's erroneous, it's ridiculous."
Asheton Sawyer was born and raised in Fairhope and is a pastor at the Fairhope First Baptist Church - "I think all candidates have some disadvantages in the way they've conducted themselves but I'm probably leaning towards the Republican," Sawyer told CNN. "Look at President Trump. I see some disappointments in him but I felt that he is probably the best for us right now."
Riley Chestang and Dale Douglas, Creek Indians from Mobile, went to Roy Moore's event in Fairhope and said they believe Moore can change Washington - "He's going to have a fight on his hands when he gets there. We'll keep supporting him," Chestang told CNN. "If I didn't vote for like-minded people that's going to work with Trump, there was really no reason for me to vote for Trump," Douglas told CNN.
Kay Day, a volunteer for the Roy Moore campaign, said she felt the last few weeks had invigorated Moore's supporters, who don't believe the accusations against him - "People are just energized the last two weeks because we found out that our people are strong, stable and they're unmovable."
Lisa Rapp, 48, of Fairhope was at Roy Moore's event and told CNN she had her own experience with sexual assault and wanted to believe the women accusing Roy Moore, but ultimately felt she wasn't sure she did - "I know for a fact how Roy Moore is going to vote when it comes to protecting unborn babies. I don't know for a fact these women are telling the truth."
Michelle Stancel is a photographer who was covering Roy Moore's event, and lives in Gulf Shores. She said it is the first time in her life she will vote for a Democrat, candidate Doug Jones - "I'm raising a 16-year-old boy in all this and that is crazy," she told CNN. "I'm trying to raise him to be right, and I don't think Moore represents that." In the 2016 presidential election she decided not to vote for anyone: "I think the 2016 election was the first time I really felt I was without a party and without a candidate. It's sad not to be excited about it."
Lou Campomenosi of Fairhope is a Roy Moore campaign volunteer and president of the local tea party group Common Sense Campaign. He told CNN he thought Moore would win the special election - "The worst is over, and he'll get elected. The question then becomes what will the Senate do, and I think that's one of our biggest concerns."
David Nicolson, 58, was born and raised in Mobile and now lives in Fairhope. "I'm probably getting to the point where I'm going to vote more for the candidate as opposed to a party," he told CNN. When asked why, Nicolson said, "Because I don't think either party is relevant anymore." He told CNN he'll be voting for Jones. When I asked if he normally votes Republican, Nicolson said, "Yes, in fact, that's why I have gray hair." In 2016, he voted for independent Gary Johnson, and this will be the second time in his life he's voted for a Democrat, after also voting for Jones in the primary.
Residents of Fairhope and Daphne, towns along the Eastern Shore of deeply red Baldwin County, represent the types of Republican voters Democratic candidate Doug Jones will have to cut into if he hopes to win, says Brown.
Republicans here tend to be politically moderate, with higher incomes and higher levels of education, while lacking the racial diversity found in neighboring Mobile County.
Signs supporting Jones scattered across lawns around Fairhope are raising some eyebrows in the area.
Leslie Goldberg, who is 62 and has lived in the Fairhope area for 25 years, said she felt many Republican voters are hesitant.
"I'm not going to vote for Roy Moore, at all. For obvious reasons," she told CNN. "All that's left is Doug Jones, who of course is a Democrat. And then there's a lot of things I don't like about him either. But what's the worst of two evils?"
Still, many Alabama voters prioritize maintaining a slim two-seat majority in the Senate in Washington.
And the national attention on Alabama's race has invigorated some local Republicans.
"They feel like they're voting against everybody who doesn't want Roy Moore," Brown told CNN of some area Republicans who are not fans of Moore. "They feel like there's this bigger thing they're voting against."
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The national focus was in the forefront Tuesday night when former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon joined Moore for a rally in Fairhope.
"They want to destroy judge Roy Moore and they want to take your voice away," Bannon told the crowd in Fairhope. "If they can destroy Roy Moore they can destroy you."
Although few voters told CNN they'd actually pull the lever for a Democrat, some voters expressed discomfort with some of Moore's stances.
Jones' pro-abortion-rights stance has cost him votes in Alabama but Moore's focus on religious beliefs turned off some voters even before the accusations against him.
"I feel like a lot of it is hot air," wedding planner Candy Williams said of Moore's controversial stances. "I really think that Trump's endorsement is because we want the seat, but at which point do we just keep sweeping stuff under the rug?"
Williams, who supports Trump, told CNN she thought many voters wouldn't admit it publicly but would probably vote for Moore.
Connie Holmes, a retired bookkeeper in Fairhope, said she had voted for Moore's primary opponent, incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to temporarily fill the seat after then-Sen. Jeff Sessions became Trump's attorney general.
Holmes plans to cast a write-in vote for Strange, even it it could help Jones win.
"At least I was thinking Luther," Holmes told CNN. "Everything has gone haywire all of a sudden in the last six months."
Some voters said the best case scenario would see Moore win and then be removed by the Senate Ethics Committee, leaving them with a new chance to elect a different Republican.
Voters were also focused on supporting Trump's agenda in Washington, but many of the female voters in Fairhope who said they'd vote for Moore didn't feel comfortable giving their names to CNN.
"I think all candidates have some disadvantages in the way they've conducted themselves but I'm probably leaning towards the Republican," Asheton Sawyer, a pastor at the Fairhope First Baptist Church, told CNN. "Look at President Trump. I see some disappointments in him but I felt that he is probably the best for us right now."
As the Republican Party continues to transform under the Trump presidency, Fairhope provides a hint of how some Republicans are struggling to adapt.
Jimmy Babb, 51, who owns a local fitness business, told CNN he would vote for Moore even though he didn't agree with the way the candidate had handled controversies that led to his suspension as the state's Supreme Court chief justice.
Babb, who supported Trump in 2016 and thinks the President is doing "OK," is still wrestling with the accusations against Moore.
"I don't know. Dating young girls, I still have a tough time with it," he told CNN. "I wish we had better options."