Recently, former judge Roy Moore has stirred up quite the fuss in the media. In November of this year, a minimum of five women have accused him of sexual misconduct. At the time of these supposed crimes, one of the victims was 28, another was 16, and one was 14. Many other women remember him pursuing unwanted sexual relations with them.

The woman who was 14 at the time of the accused sexual misconduct, Leigh Corfman, allegedly met Moore in the hallway of the county courthouse, where he sat with her while her mother went to testify. While they talked, Moore had convinced her to exchange phone numbers with him. After this, they went on two “dates” together. On both, Moore drove his car to the corner of Corfman’s house, picked her up, and then drove her to his house. On the first, he complimented Corfman on her looks and proceeded to kiss her. On the second, he allegedly stripped Corfman down to her bra and underwear and touched her over them. He then guided her hand to do the same to him. According to Alabama law, this is blatantly illegal, as the age of consent in Alabama is 16. A crime like this could land somebody up to ten years in prison.

If you disregard these allegations, it would be very likely for Moore to win the Alabama Senate vote, seeing as Republican voters outweigh Democrat voters in Alabama at a ratio of two to one. So even taking the sexual assault allegations into account, Moore has a strong chance of winning this election. To many, his views are far more important than the crimes he allegedly committed. He follows the Republican standard to a T, believing in a smaller government, low taxes, strong borders, and a strong military defense. These beliefs likely appeal to the people of Alabama very much, possibly enough to win the election for him based on them alone. Doug Jones, Ray Moore’s competition in his election, is the polar opposite of Roy Moore. Though Jones hasn’t spoken his views on many issues directly, based on his actions in the past, he seems to be very pro-choice, pro-immigration, and he is for the idea of regulating CO2 emissions.

At the end of the day, it’s really a toss up as to who will win, but the way it’s looking now, Roy Moore definitely has the upper hand. Despite sexual assault allegations, the people of Alabama likely put his views over all, possibly because they just dislike Doug Jones that much, or maybe because they just don’t know about the many claims against Moore. Has the media really made a difference in this fight? Only time will tell.