Alabama Senate Race

FAIRHOPE, Ala. (AP) – The Latest on the U.S. Senate race in Alabama (all times local): 1:05 p.m. Alabama Democratic Senate nominee Doug Jones says Sen. Al Franken should resign amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving women.

Jones said Wednesday that sexual harassment isn’t a partisan issue, and people in Congress shouldn’t be treated differently than others.

He said Franken should quit for the good of the country and his own constituents.

Jones’ comments came in response to a reporter’s question following an appearance with campaign volunteers in Birmingham.

Jones has said he believes the women who have accused Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct decades ago.

Moore denies doing anything wrong.

UPDATED: 9:15 a.m. Republican Roy Moore’s Alabama Senate campaign is demanding that a political group quit running a commercial about sexual misconduct allegations against the candidate.

The Moore campaign says an ad paid for by a super PAC called Highway 31 includes “patently false” claims about the accusations against Moore.

The ad highlights allegations that Moore tried to date teenage girls while he was in his 30’s in the northeast Alabama city of Gadsden.

The Moore campaign issued a statement Wednesday saying it’s threatening to sue over the ad.

An Alabama political consultant who is linked to the group, Adam Muhlendorf, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The Alabama secretary of state’s office has complained about incorrect voting information it says is in another commercial sponsored by Highway 31.

UPDATED: 3:50 a.m. Populist firebrand Steve Bannon savaged national Republican leaders in a fiery call to rally voters behind embattled Senate candidate Roy Moore as the battle for the GOP’s soul spilled into a dirt-floor barn deep in rural Alabama.

Bannon, known best for his former role as President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, called GOP leaders in Congress “cowards” Tuesday night and attacked the party’s 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a draft dodger as he defended Moore, who’s fighting allegations of sexual misconduct.

Bannon’s appearance was a welcome development for Moore, who has been shunned by the Republican Party’s biggest stars.

Trump himself agreed to campaign later in the week in nearby Florida, but many national GOP leaders say the allegations against Moore are credible and he shouldn’t serve in the Senate.