A liberal group is telling GOP voters in Alabama to write in their choice for this week’s special Senate election, using a new ad to explain how Republicans can avoid voting for party nominee and accused pedophile Roy Moore — even if they don’t support Democratic nominee Doug Jones.
The 15-second digital ad, set to run on Facebook, shows how voters can write in their vote on Tuesday’s election instead of selecting one of the listed candidates.
The digital spot even suggests whom they should pick instead, writing in the name of Nick Saban, the coach of the University of Alabama’s highly successful football team.
A spokesman for the group running the ad, the liberal super PAC American Bridge, said it was spending more than $10,000 on the spot, targeting 140,000 “persuadable” Republicans in the state.
"Roy Moore's disgraceful actions make him unfit for public service. Alabama voters have a chance to stand up for moral values on Tuesday, and as coach Saban says, 'Character is what you do when no one else is watching,'" said Bradley Beychok, Bridge’s president, in a statement.
Democrats are trying to pull off an improbable upset in the deeply red state, hoping to capitalize on the scandal-plagued Moore’s deep unpopularity with a broad swath of the electorate.
Moore, however, is widely considered the favorite in the race, despite facing multiple, on-the-record allegations that he sexually assaulted children while in his thirties. Although pollsters caution that an uncommon pre-Christmas special election in a state that rarely has competitive races makes projecting the electorate difficult, many recent surveys have shown Moore in the lead.
Alex Roarty: 202-383-6173, @Alex_Roarty