Alabama Voters Send Message To Washington And Trump And Democrat Doug Jones With It
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Democrat Doug Jones won the Alabama Senate race Tuesday night in the special election according to all major media projections. The final count, as of 11:30 Central had not all completely counted, but with 100% of voting precincts reporting, the vote count showed Doug Jones winning:
Many things were remarkable about the outcome of this campaign, which between the two candidates spending a combined $40 million dollars, not the least of which seemed to be a repudiation by Alabama Republicans not only of Republican Roy Moore, but of Steve Bannon, who pushed forward the candidacy of accused sex offender Moore, despite the calls of many national Republican leaders – and President Donald Trump, who, at Bannon’s behest, endorsed Roy Moore down the final stretch of the election. Trump will be confronted with his unequivocally strong support for Moore, as in this tweet before the election:
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. Roy Moore will always vote with us. VOTE ROY MOORE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
fShortly after Jones’ acceptance speech, Trump tweeted this:
Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017
Exit polling and vote tallies indicated that turnout in the rural GOP strongholds of the state, showed up in depressed numbers, which appeared to be accountable to an uneasiness with some Republicans about the reputation and demeanor of the GOP candidate. Even the other GOP incumbent Senator Richard Shelby, announced that he would be voting for a write in candidate. The write-in vote looked to have influenced the final vote tally. What else is thought to have been an X-factor was an energized African-American vote.
While some speculated what the tone of Trump’s response would be and when it would come, the tweet appears to suggest that Trump intends to change the subject as soon as possible, although it is not as though Trump’s impulses can be predicted with accuracy. His attack on Kirsten Gillibrand earlier in the day, was just the latest in the inflammatory messaging Trump has indulged in during his first year in office.
Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017
Jones, the first Democrat to win a seat in the U.S. Senate in a quarter of a century, vastly exceeded expectations in some traditionally dominant GOP cities in Alabama, winning in Mobile, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville.
Roy Moore declined to issue a concession speech, telling supporters that he would wait until state officials return the official results of the vote count and a mandated re-count.
Jones’ win narrows the GOP margin in the Senate, beginning in January, by 51 – 49, and according to numerous observers in both political camps, either puts the Senate in play for the 2018 mid-terms, or in the best case scenario for Republicans, gives them a renewed lease on life, not having to account for the presence of a politically radioactive Roy Moore in the upper chamber of Congress.
Former GOP Senator Rick Santorum was part of a panel of analysts on CNN’s coverage of tonight’s vote and painfully acknowledged that Donald Trump’s conduct in the White House, including his explosive serial tweeting is weakening his presidency.
Doug Jones focused his acceptance speech on congratulating the voters of Alabama and asking his soon to be colleagues in the Senate to begin thinking about how to begin working with one another to find “common ground” and accomplish the nation’s business on a bi-partisan footing. He also quoted the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.’s statement that “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
