Democrat Jones Wins Alabama Senate Election
After a contentious campaign, voters backed Jones over Moore by a margin of 49.9 percent to 48.4 percent.
The result means that in January when Jones is sworn in, the Republican majority in the 100-seat Senate will shrink to 51-49 and make it tougher for President Trump to enact his agenda.
"We have shown not just around the state of Alabama, but we have shown the country the way, that we can be unified," Jones told cheering supporters in a victory speech Tuesday night. He said the Senate has a lot of work to do on important issues facing the country, including health care, jobs and the economy.
Moore, at his own rally, did not concede the election to Jones.
"It's not over. It's going to take some time," he said.
His campaign pointed to Alabama laws concerning recounts, including a provision that calls for an automatic recount of votes if the margin of victory is less than one-half of one percent.
Speaking to CNN, Alabama's Secretary of State John Merrill said he would find it "highly unlikely" that Jones will not be declared the winner when the vote tally is certified in the coming week. He said there are "not a whole lot of mistakes that are made" during the initial vote-counting process.
Moore had the backing of Trump, but faced opposition from other Republican leaders. He has been accused of sexual misconduct in the 1970s when his female accusers were teenagers and he was in his 30s.
Moore has consistently denied the allegations, but he initially admitted dating young women when he was an attorney general, before denying ever knowing any of his accusers.
Some Republicans, including Alabama's other senator, Richard Shelby, opted to use write-in votes rather than support Moore. The number of total write-ins was about the same as the margin of victory for Jones.
Trump used Twitter to congratulate Jones while looking ahead to the next election for the Senate seat in 2020.