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President
Donald Trump's populist brand will be tested after he backed
ultra-conservative Roy Moore, who is accused of misconduct by multiple
women.
Much of the Republican establishment has distanced itself from the 70-year-old former Alabama judge.
The race between Mr Moore and Democrat Doug Jones is too close to call.
The
Republican candidate has said homosexual activity should be illegal and
argued against removing segregationist language from the state
constitution.
But
it is sexual misconduct claims against him by a number of women, mostly
when they were teenagers, that have made Washington conservatives
baulk.
One accuser alleges Mr Moore molested her when she was 14. Another says he tried to rape her.
The scandal has put an Alabama Senate seat within reach of Democrats for the first time in more than two decades.
Repercussions beyond Alabama
Gary O'Donoghue, BBC News, Montgomery
Elections
are rarely competitive in Alabama. It's the kind of place Republicans
might as well weigh their votes rather than count them, such is the
party's dominance here.
This special election has upended all the normal expectations and still, at this late stage, remains too close to call.
Democrat Doug Jones can win if he manages to galvanise the black vote in cities such as Birmingham and Montgomery.
Roy
Moore, his Republican rival, could easily lose if those rural, white,
church-going conservatives stay at home amid the allegations against
him.
Whatever the outcome, the repercussions will be felt beyond Alabama.
If the Republicans lose, their Senate advantage contracts to just one vote.
If
they win, their candidate is likely to face months of ethics inquiries,
and an outside chance of being expelled from the Senate.
For
the Democrats, a win would bolster their bargaining power in Congress,
and place control of the Senate within definite grasp at next year's
mid-term elections.
How does Moore respond?
On Tuesday, the world's press were waiting as he emerged on horseback from woodland to a ballot station.
He said people should "go out and vote their conscience".
Making
his final pitch on election eve, Mr Moore reiterated his denials, again
questioning why his accusers had kept quiet for 40 years while he had
held various political offices.
Speaking
alongside Mr Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, in front of
a crowd that chanted the president's slogan "Drain the Swamp", Mr Moore
drew heavily from the Bible.
"I want America great," he said, "but I want America good and she can't be good until we go back to God."
Mr
Moore was joined at Monday's rally by his wife Kayla, who said separate
allegations last week that her husband was anti-Semitic were "fake
news".
"One of our attorneys is a Jew, we have very close friends who are Jewish," she said.
How has Washington reacted?
In
an automated phone message on Monday, Mr Trump's voice warned voters
that his agenda would be "stopped cold" if Mr Moore lost.
But
many other leading Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, have kept arm's length from their party's candidate, or
shunned him altogether.
Without
mentioning Mr Moore by name, Republican former Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, an African-American who grew up in Alabama, urged her
home state to "reject bigotry, sexism, and intolerance".
Richard Shelby, Alabama's other senator, said on Sunday the state "deserves better" than Mr Moore.
A
Democratic lawmaker has sent a letter to the Senate urging steps to
protect teenagers working in the chamber's page programme from Mr
Moore's "predatory conduct".
Mr
Jones, a 63-year-old former prosecutor, denies opponents' claims he
will be a "puppet" of the Democratic congressional leadership.
He is lauded for helping convict two Ku Klux Klan members who bombed a black church in 1963 in Birmingham, killing four girls.
But Mr Jones' support for abortion rights is toxic to many Christian conservatives in Alabama.
After casting his ballot on Tuesday morning, he predicted: "I don't think Roy Moore is going to win this election."
Former President Barack Obama has recorded an automated phone message for Mr Jones.
"This one's serious," Mr Obama told voters in his call. "You can't sit it out."
[BBC SOURCES]
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