Prayer, principle guide women voters in Roy Moore's Alabama hometown

GADSDEN, Ala. (Reuters) - In a U.S. Senate race rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct against Republican candidate Roy Moore, some women in his hometown said they were sticking by the embattled nominee while others said prayer would guide their votes on Tuesday.

Caroll Norman, a retired middle school teacher in Gadsden, said she did not know if she would vote for a Democrat for the first time in her life or write in another name on her ballot.

Perusing a candle shop downtown Monday evening, the Trump supporter said not even the president's vocal backing of the embattled Republican nominee had swayed her.

“I’ll have to pray about it and make a decision in the morning,” the 64-year-old Republican said.

Reuters spoke to more than a dozen women in the religious, working-class city of about 36,000 people an hour from Birmingham. Gadsden landed in an unwelcome spotlight after multiple women came forward last month to accuse Moore of pursuing them when they were teenagers and he was a local prosecutors in his 30s.

One accuser said he tried to initiate sexual contact with her when she was 14. Moore denounced the allegations as political attacks and refused to heed national Republicans' calls to leave the race. Reuters has not independently confirmed any of the accusations.

Norman said there were inconsistencies in the women's stories, as well as in some of Moore's responses.

Nearby at a bus stop downtown, where Christmas music played from speakers on light poles, Republican Sara Teet, 35, said she also remained conflicted.

“I just don’t know what to believe," she said. "I don’t know what to do."

But at the Gadsden Mall, Republican Debbie Handy said she was voting for "the judge," as many locals refer to Moore, a former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice.

“I’ve known him a long time and he’d never have anything to do with those women," Handy, 40, said. "He’s a man of integrity. He’s a strong Christian."

Handy said she also liked Moore because he supports Trump, who last year won 73 percent of the presidential vote in Etowah County, where Gadsden is the county seat.

"Trump and Moore will bring America back to what it should be," she said.

Robin Gibson, 61, a store clerk and self-described liberal Democrat, said she knew one of Moore's accusers and she believed the allegations against him.

Her vote on Tuesday for Democrat Doug Jones would have nothing to do with thwarting Trump or trying to erode the slim margin Republicans hold in the Senate, she said.

“This isn’t a race about Trump’s plans for our country. It’s about who represents my state,” Gibson said.

Around town, where there were noticeably few campaign signs for either candidate, many voters echoed the sentiments of Pat Miller in the final hours of the race.

“We’ve had CNN and the Washington Post and some fellas from New York City all over the place,” said Miller, 54, as she walked out of the Gadsden Variety Café with a bowl of hot chili. “All I can say is that we all can’t wait for this to be over.”

(Reporting by Rich McKay; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Bill Trott)