By Ben Jacobs in Montgomery and David Smith in Birmingham, Alabama – The Guardian US
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]emocrat Doug Jones won a remarkable upset victory over controversial rival Roy Moore in the diehard Republican state of Alabama on Tuesday to win election to the US Senate.By a margin of 49.5 to 48.9 with 91% of precincts reporting, Jones dealt a major blow to Donald Trump and his efforts to pass tax reform on Capitol Hill.
Jones was able to become the first Democrat in a decade to win any statewide office in Alabama by beating Moore, who had faced multiple allegations of sexual assault during a campaign which exposed Republican party faultlines.
Despite a history as a social conservative firebrand, Moore had been favored in the deep red state until two women came forward to claim that Moore assaulted them when they were teenagers and a number of others said that the Alabama Republican had romantically pursued them when they were underage.
Moore has denied all the allegations.The Democratic victory will reduce the Republican majority in the Senate to 51-49 once Jones takes his seat on Capitol Hill. This significantly reduces the margin for error as Republicans attempt to push through a major corporate tax cut.
They already have one defector in senator Bob Corker and Jones’s election means a single additional Republican breaking ranks would sink the legislation.
Moore’s defeat also marks a major political blow to Trump, who endorsed the Alabama Republican and held a rally on his behalf just over the state line in Pensacola, Florida.
Although most national Republicans rushed to distance themselves from Moore in the aftermath of the allegations, Trump reaffirmed his support through tweets and public statements.
Moore’s defeat is also a significant blow to the efforts by Steve Bannon and the populist Trump wing of the Republican party to undermine Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.
Bannon and his allies have been planning a series of primary challenges against establishment Republicans in 2018. Moore’s defeat significantly reduces their leverage as the joint efforts of Bannon and his website Breitbart could not elect their preferred candidate in a state that Donald Trump won in a landslide in 2016.
Steven Law, the head of the McConnell allied Senate Leadership Fund, came out with a statement putting the blame squarely on Bannon moments after the race was called. “This is a brutal reminder that candidate quality matters regardless of where you are running,” Law said. “Not only did Steve Bannon cost us a critical Senate seat in one of the most Republican states in the country, but he also dragged the president of the United States into his fiasco.”
“I hope Senator-elect Doug Jones will do the right thing and truly represent Alabama by choosing to vote with the Senate Republican Majority.” Alabama’s last Democratic senator, Richard Shelby, switched parties in 1994 and was re-elected as a Republican in 2016.
While national Republicans accepted defeat, the Moore campaign still held out hope. Rich Hobson, Moore’s campaign manager, took the stage at the Republican’s election night event to say: “We’re not calling it yet … it could be a while” as the music shifted from jaunty smooth jazz performance to somber Christian rock.
The result came after polling day found Moore supporters defiant in his hometown of Gadsden.
Former US marine Mel Gilliland, 76, rejected the sexual misconduct allegations swirling around Moore, insisting he did nothing wrong. “I’ve known Roy Moore for years and years. I think he’s a good, honest person.
I’m from this place and know everything and half the people here. I was around at the time and I think it’s a bunch of made-up crap. If I was Roy Moore, I would sue the crap out of them.”
Gilliland also voted Republican in last year’s presidential election. “Donald Trump is America’s last hope,” he said. “I’ve been around a long time and I see what’s happening in America and I don’t like it.”
Cory Gardner, the head of the National Republican Senate Committee which flatly refused to backed Moore, said: “Tonight’s results are clear – the people of Alabama deemed Roy Moore unfit to serve in the US Senate.”
His wife Phyllis interjected: “Socialised medicine.” Phyllis, 62, a retired administrative assistant, dismissed the accusations against Moore as “fake news” and said she strongly endorsed his opposition to abortion and gay marriage. Republicans in Congress “need their butts kicked”, she added. “Drain the swamp.”
Unlike the surrounding rural areas, however, central Gadsden has a significant chunk of Jones supporters.
Kim Howard, 40, an insurance agent, said turnout was high and almost everyone she had spoken to at a polling station at the Gadsden convention hall had voted for Jones. “He’s a Democrat and I like his values and what he stands for,” she said.
She was keenly aware that the eyes of the nation and beyond are on Alabama. “Everyone is waiting to see if we elect Roy Moore.”
Frankie Huff, 51, an African American stay-at-home mother, voted for Jones. “I don’t like what I heard about the Republican,” she said. “I would be embarrassed if he wins.”
