Former US attorney Doug Jones wins Senate race over Roy Moore

Democrat Doug Jones pulled out an upset on Tuesday, defeating former Alabama state judge and accused sexual harasser Roy Moore to win the race for U.S. Senate.

BREAKING: Democrat Doug Jones wins election as U.S. senator from Alabama. @AP race call at 10:23 p.m. EST. #AlabamaElection #APracecall

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 13, 2017

Thank you ALABAMA!!

— Doug Jones (@GDouglasJones) December 13, 2017

Jones defeated Moore, a Republican, in Tuesday’s special election, which was held to fill the position left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

He is the first Democrat in a quarter century to win an Alabama Senate seat.

Jones was considered the unlikely candidate to win before the election, but the race ended up being extremely close. Several voting models had Moore up by several percent in the hours before the vote was called.

Jones, 63, is a former U.S. attorney who was best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen who killed four black girls in Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing.

In his acceptance speech, Jones thanked his loved ones for supporting him and said “Dec. 12 has always been a historic day.”

“I’ve always believed that the people of Alabama have more in common than divides us. We have shown the country the way that we can be unified,” he added.

“The people of Alabama have spoken. This campaign has never been about me or Roy Moore, it has been about every one of you,” Jones said in his speech.

“At the end of the day, this race has been about dignity and respect. This campaign has been about the rule of law. This campaign has been about common courtesy and decency and everyone, no matter what zip code you live in, will have a fair chance in life,” Jones said, as the crowd chanted “USA!”

“We have work to do, to build bridges in this state, to reach across to those who didn’t vote for me to find common ground,” he added.

However, Moore did not concede the race on Tuesday, saying, “When the vote is this close, it’s not over.”

Moore does NOT concede: "When the vote is this close, it is not over.”

"Let's go home and sleep on it."

— Andrew Desiderio (@desiderioDC) December 13, 2017

Jones fought to cobble together an unlikely coalition of African-Americans, liberal whites and moderate Republicans.

According to exit polls, 93 percent of black men and 98 percent of black women voted for Jones. That was compared to 72 percent of white men and 63 percent of white women.

Tuesday’s election marked the end of a months-long ordeal between Jones and Moore, one that was repeatedly plagued by claims of sexual misconduct by multiple teenage girls against the Alabama Republican.

The claims first came to light in November, when The Washington Post reported that Moore initiated sexual behavior with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32. That same report included claims from three other women who said Moore “pursued them” when they were between the ages of 16 and 18.

That same month, another woman came forward at a news conference, saying Moore had sexually assaulted her when she was 16 and he dissuaded her from coming forward because “no one will believe you.”

The Washington Post reported in December that a different woman came forward with evidence of a romantic relationship she had with Moore when she was 17 and he was 34.

A local Alabama publication had also reported that Moore was known to flirt with teenage girls at malls in Gadsden, saying it was “common knowledge” and “not a big secret.”

“He would go and flirt with all the young girls,” a Gadsden native told the publication. “It’d seem like every Friday or Saturday night (you’d see him) walking around the mall, like the kids did.”

One seat alone will not change the balance of power in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 52-48 majority, but a loss has made it harder for Trump to push legislation through a bitterly divided Congress.

A GOP loss gave Democrats a clearer path to a Senate majority in 2018 — albeit a narrow one — in an election cycle where Democrats are far more optimistic about seizing control of the House of Representatives.

Democrats were not supposed to have a chance in Alabama, one of the most Republican-leaning states in the nation. President Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton here by nearly 28 points just 13 months ago.

Moore, who largely avoided public events in the final weeks of the race and spent far less money on advertising than his opponent, was counting on the state’s traditional Republican leanings and the strength of his passionate evangelical Christian supporters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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