In a tweet delivered Friday afternoon, Sen. Steve Daines withdrew his endorsement of U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore following deepening allegations of sexual misconduct against the Alabama Republican.
Daines and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, both said Friday they would no longer endorse Moore for the Senate.
“I am pulling my endorsement and support Roy Moore for U.S. Senate,” Daines said in his tweet, issued at 4:02 p.m. on Friday.
Daines had initially endorsed Moore on Tuesday, calling the Republican hopeful a “principled conservative” who had the experience to help reform Washington.
By Thursday, however, Republican leaders had run from Moore after the Washington Post reported that he sexually assaulted a 14-year old girl when he was serving as a district attorney in Alabama.
Three other women also have accused the candidate of pursuing them sexually when they were in their teens and he was in his 30s. Moore has dismissed all the allegations.
Earlier in the week, Daines had expressed trepidation regarding the allegations against Moore, but stopped short of withdrawing his endorsement.
“These are very serious allegations and if true he should step down,” Fox News quoted Daines as saying late Thursday night.
Daines’ office has yet to respond to requests for further comment on the issue.