Alabama projected to elect Democrat Doug Jones as next US senator in upset special election
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- Alabama voters elected Democrat Doug Jones, upsetting the Republican favorite, Roy Moore, to be the state's next US senator on Tuesday.
- Jones' election is a significant — and improbable — blow to the GOP, which will now have just a one seat advantage in the Senate.
Alabama voters elected Democrat Doug Jones as the state's next US senator on Tuesday in one of the most scandal-plagued political contests in recent memory.
Jones, a former federal prosecutor, won a stunning upset victory over Republican Roy Moore, who faces several accusations of sexual misconduct with teenagers.
"I have always believed that the people of Alabama have more in common than what divide us," Jones said in his victory speech on Tuesday night. "We have shown the country the way that we can be unified."
The contest was the most competitive the deeply red state has seen in several decades, with high black voter turnout and low enthusiasm among traditionally Republican voters, many of whom were turned off by Moore's alleged history of sexual misconduct and far-right ideology. Jones will be the first Democrat to hold the seat in more than two decades.
Jones' win is a huge blow to the GOP's legislative future, reducing the party's advantage in the Senate to a single seat.
Once thought a long shot, Jones benefited from a large influx in outside donations, both from individuals and national Democratic groups, after the first misconduct allegations against Moore were reported by The Washington Post in November.
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee spent up to the legal limit — $366,700 — on Jones' campaign, according to HuffPost, and numerous celebrities and high-profile Democrats visited the state or partnered with the Jones campaign.
While Moore denied the allegations against him, calling his female accusers politically motivated liars, dozens of prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said they believed the allegations and called on Moore to abandon the race.
While Republican lawmakers have been saved from dealing with a possible ethics investigation into their newest colleague, Moore's loss is a major blow to President Donald Trump, who threw his full support behind the embattled candidate in recent weeks.
Trump officially endorsed Moore in mid-November, writing off the allegations against him as decades old and unproven, and held a rally in Pensacola, Florida — miles from the Alabama state line — just days before the election, urging voters to support Moore.
"The people of Alabama will do the right thing. Doug Jones is Pro-Abortion, weak on Crime, Military and Illegal Immigration, Bad for Gun Owners and Veterans and against the WALL. Jones is a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet," Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning. "Roy Moore will always vote with us. VOTE ROY MOORE!"
Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, aggressively campaigned for Moore, along with other far-right GOP leaders, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and former Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka. And in recent days, McConnell reversed his position on Moore, saying that the decision on who to elect to the Senate seat should be up to Alabamians.
Moore beat Sen. Luther Strange, who was selected to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in the GOP primary, despite having little support from the Republican Party, including Trump, who initially endorsed Strange.
In an unprecedented move just two days before the election, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama denounced Moore, saying that the sexual misconduct allegations against him were a "tipping point" for him.
"I couldn't vote for Roy Moore, I didn't vote for Roy Moore, but I wrote in a distinguished Republican name, and I think a lot of people could do that," Shelby said. "I think the Republican party can do better."
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