Local Republican party president Donna Horn said allegations that allegations of child molestation against Roy Moore are not going to hurt his campaign, but “widen his lead.”

The Washington Post Thursday reported that a woman claims Moore initiated sexual contact with her when she was 14 and he was 32. The report also cites three other women that Moore “pursued” them while he was in his thirties and that they were the ages of 16 to 18, although they report never having a relationship or sexual contact with Moore.

“I don’t believe one word of it,” Horn said Friday. “I think this rumor is going to backfire and that people will think it is a smear campaign against Roy Moore. I’m very suspicious of the timing. This woman knew who Roy Moore was and where he was, but chooses this timing? People are going to rally around Roy Moore. I look for this to widen Roy Moore’s lead.”

Horn said if it is a smear campaign, she’s not sure if it is coming from Democrats or Republican leaders.

“Some Republicans I’ve talked to are suspicious of higher ups in the Republican party,” Horn said. “I don’t think it was very responsible journalism to print something like that with absolutely no proof. I think that Roy Moore has been in the limelight for years and he didn’t just do something like this years and years ago and never do it again. I think if he had these kind of tendencies, it would have come out.”

Moore doubled down on denying the allegations with a statement Friday:

“I have never provided alcohol to minors, and I have never engaged in sexual misconduct,” Moore said in the statement. “As a father of a daughter and a grandfather of five granddaughters, I condemn the actions of any man who engages in sexual misconduct not just against minors, but against any woman. I also believe that any person who has been abused should feel the liberty to come forward and seek protection.

“I know that a lot of people wonder why this story was written. Why would women say these things if they are not true? I can’t fully answer that because as much as I have disagreed vehemently on political issues with many people over the years, I cannot understand the mentality of using such a dangerous lie to try to personally destroy someone.

“As a former judge and administer of the law, I take the protection of our innocent as one of my most sacred callings. False allegations are gravely serious and will have a profound consequence on those who are truly harassed or molested. I strongly urge the Washington Post, and everyone involved, to tell the truth.”