With only a week to go before voting day in the hotly contested Alabama Senate special election, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona is siding with the Democrat in the race.
On Tuesday, Flake posted a photo on Twitter of a check from him for $100, made out to "Doug Jones for U.S. Senate," the campaign fund of the Democratic Senate nominee.
Jones' opponent is Republican Roy Moore, who is embroiled in a scandal over serious allegations of sexual misconduct and assault during the late 1970s and early 1980s. To date, nearly a half-dozen women have come forward to say that Moore pursued sexual relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was a lawyer in his 30s. Two of the women allege that Moore sexually assaulted them when they were minors.
In the memo line of the check, Flake wrote "Country over Party," a reference to his decision to support a Democratic candidate rather than back Moore, the nominee of his own party.
The phrase "country over party" is becoming synonymous with the movement of Republicans who oppose President Donald Trump and see a candidate like Moore — whom Trump formally endorsed on Monday — as exemplifying the erosion of the GOP's core values.
Flake is one of the most outspoken critics of the president in Congress. Earlier this year, in announcing his retirement, Flake said he refused to be "complicit" in the undermining of democratic principles and values. "I have children and grandchildren to answer to, and so, Mr. President, I will not be complicit," he said.
Flake has been even more critical of Moore, however, and his Tuesday donation is an extension of his well-known opposition to the controversial former judge.
Moore and Jones are locked in a tight race heading into election day — a situation that a few months ago would have been difficult to imagine in deep-red Alabama.