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Article snippet: NORTHPORT, Ala. — Sheila Hayes has followed every twist and turn in the allegations against Roy S. Moore, the Republican Senate candidate who has been accused of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls. But Ms. Hayes, a community college instructor and a Democrat, felt a jolt of unease when she watched the lawyer Gloria Allred speak at a news conference where a woman accused Mr. Moore of misconduct. “I like Gloria Allred, but when I saw her on TV, I sort of cringed, because I knew what people in Alabama would say,” said Ms. Hayes, who was wearing a button for Mr. Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones. She said she believed the women. In short order, Ms. Allred, who has represented women in prominent sexual harassment cases for decades, became a character in the scrappy contest that will be decided Dec. 12. As Mr. Moore has tried to deny the allegations and undermine his accusers, he and his supporters have vilified Ms. Allred. They have raised doubts about the evidence she has presented and have played on some voters’ entrenched mistrust of out-of-state figures by targeting a lawyer known for stepping into the limelight. “I think she has provided a convenient excuse for Republicans to look the other way, and that’s unfortunate,” Elizabeth BeShears, a Republican communications consultant, said. “Because Roy’s camp has turned this conversation into being about Gloria Allred,” she added, the stories of the accusers “are getting buried.” For Mr. Moore, a former S... Link to the full article to read more