The Latest: Moore's wife defends husband, says he'll fight

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Latest on sexual assault allegations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (all times local):

2:25 p.m.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey says she plans to vote for Republican Roy Moore for U.S. Senate even though he faces accusations of sexual misconduct.

Ivey told reporters Friday that a factor in her decision is maintaining GOP control of the Senate. She says the state needs to send a Republican to Washington, so she intends to vote for the Republican nominee.

Ivey has previously been noncommittal about voting for Moore amid accusations he sexually molested young women and tried to date teenage girls.

Ivey says she has no reason to disbelieve women who have come forward to make allegations of wrongdoing by Moore. But she adds: "The timing is a little curious."

Moore is running against Democrat Doug Jones in the special election on Dec. 12.

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11:30 a.m.

The wife of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore says her husband will not step down in the face of sexual assault allegations.

Kayla Moore spoke out in defense of her husband on Friday. She says they have been married for over 32 years and the Army veteran has always been an officer and a gentleman.

She says he will not stop fighting for the people of Alabama and repeated what her husband said the day before when he remarked: "I will not stop until they lay me in that box in the ground."

Moore has been dogged by allegations that he sexually assaulted two women decades ago when they were teenagers.

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2:30 a.m.

Alabama Republican Roy Moore's campaign is lashing out at the women accusing him of sexual misconduct even as women's advocates decry what they call intimidation tactics.

Republicans in Washington are growing concerned that Moore might not only lose the special Senate election in Alabama but damage the GOP's brand with women across the country.

A spokesman for President Donald Trump says he finds the allegations against more "very troubling" but that the people of Alabama should determine the outcome of the Senate race.

In Alabama, Moore appeared alongside more than a dozen religious leaders, who took turns bashing the Christian conservative's many critics - especially his female accusers.

Moore himself called the allegations "unsubstantiated," ''unproven" and "fake" but refused to answer questions from reporters about the allegations.

Associated Press