Mitch McConnell Floats Jeff Sessions Write-in Campaign in Wake of Moore Revelations

mcconnell jeff sessions — WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 19: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), center, speaks to the press with U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), from left, U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) after the weekly Senate Republicans policy luncheon on March 19, 2013 in Washington, DC. The Senate is expected to pass a revised continuing resolution and send their edits back to the House in order to prevent a government shutdown next week, but any action in the Senate may be delayed until later in the week. (Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)

Things aren’t looking good for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

The former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice has been rocked in recent days by revelations that he pursued sexual relations with teenage girls. Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have demanded Moore drop out of the race. Senator John McCain, despite facing similar allegations back in 2008, has also called on Moore to drop his bid.

There’s no word yet on whether or not President Trump will ask Moore to step down, although one White House official hinted that Trump may end up standing by the embattled candidate.

If Moore does step down, it would imperil the Republican agenda in Congress. Right now, the GOP has a slim majority in the Senate – 52 senators. Losing Moore, who had a near-guarantee to win and keep the 52-member majority, would mean that McConnell would have only 51 senators to rely on. In an environment where Democrats are fired up, and won’t hesitate to resist anything Trump does, this could ruin all Republican initiatives in Congress.

But, McConnell just floated backup plan to keep his majority intact while still jettisoning Moore. It involves forcing Moore to resign and having Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose Senate seat is being contested, to run a write-in campaign.

Here’s what he reportedly told the Wall Street Journal:

McConnell at WSJ CEO Council on @MooreSenate: “It appears as if the only option would be a write-in and that’s very seldom successful, although we’ve had an example of it in 2010, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska lost the primary, ran a write-in campaign in the general election…” 1/

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 15, 2017

2/ “… and actually won. I think the last person to do that was Strom Thurmond in the 50s. So, why did she win? She was totally well-known and extremely popular. And the name being the most often discussed may not be available, but the Alabamian who would fit that standard…”

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 15, 2017

3/“… would be the Attorney General, who is totally well-known and extremely popular in Alabama. That obviously would be a big move for him and for the President. …I’m confident this is an issue they’re discussing in great detail.” -fin-

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 15, 2017

McConnell is, if anything, canny when it comes to politicking. This scheme isn’t guaranteed to work. But it may be the only way for the GOP to save face in the wake of Moore’s depraved behavior.

Sessions remains popular in Alabama, by virtue of him being senator from the state for decades. This could be the lifeline the Republicans need to extricate them from the whole Roy Moore mess.

What do you think? Should AG Jeff Sessions launch a write-in campaign to replace Roy Moore as the Republican Senate candidate? Should Moore stick to his guns and keep running? Tell us your thoughts below!