Alabama Senate Special Election – JONES wins

Legal Insurrection

"AP and networks have called the race for Jones at about 10:25 p.m. Eastern.

"Moore led most of the night, but Birmingham (Jefferson County) was late reporting, and when it did, it swung the election. Jones won Jefferson County with about 70% of the vote.

"There will be hot takes galore. Here’s my “quick” take:

"Moore never could recover from the allegations of sexual abuse of a 14 year old and 16 year old. While he did manage to cloud the issue, with an assist from Gloria Allred, it wasn’t enough in the end. The polling showed Moore with a pretty solid 3-4% average lead, but the polls were off in what certainly was a hard to poll special election.

"While this was a candidate specific loss, it certainly will be spun as part of a wave that started in Virginia and will be a precursor of the midterms. It also means that the Trump agenda is on the ropes, with just a single vote margin next year. Tax reform needs to pass this year (since Jones will not be seated until next term), or it may not get done. You probably can forget anything else big getting done before the midterms, not with McCain and Collins and a couple of others who barely vote with Trump."

See how the UK Daily Mail words this headline:   

Accused pedophile Roy Moore LOSES dramatic election as safe Republican state's voters desert Trump's choice and Democrat Doug Jones takes Senate seat

"The Associated Press called the Alabama Senate race for Doug Jones at 9:23 p.m. local time, as the Democrat bested Republican Roy Moore, an accused pedophile.  

"For Jones, just having a (D) next to his name meant an extremely steep climb in a state that hadn't voted for a Democratic senator in 31 years – and that man, Sen. Richard Shelby, later changed his affiliation to Republican.  

"But Jones was buoyed by a mix of grit and chance – campaigning rabidly through the end, while Moore traveled out-of-state, haunted by accusations that he had pursued and molested teenagers while he was a man in his 30s.

"The election had become bigger than these two men, with President Trump's name – and also that of his former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon – also attached to Moore's name on the ballot. " . . .