NPR
Updated at 12:44 a.m. ET
Democrat Doug Jones has won the Alabama Senate special election, a victory that was a stunning upset in a deeply red state that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump. The president, who had backed Republican Roy Moore despite multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and assault, congratulated Jones on Twitter.
The win by Jones, projected by The Associated Press two hours after the polls closed Tuesday night, is sure to send shock waves through Washington. The special election to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who left the Senate in February, was upended in November as multiple women came forward to say Moore had pursued them romantically as teenagers when he was in his 30s. Some alleged he had sexually assaulted them, including one woman who said he had initiated sexual contact with her when she was just 14. Moore has denied the accusations.
The unfolding controversy made what should have been a safe GOP race anything but. It's the first Democratic Senate victory in the state in 25 years and now gives Republicans an even narrower, 51-49 Senate majority that could imperil GOP legislative priorities in 2018. Jones will be up for re-election to a full term in 2020.
"Alabama has been at a crossroads. We have been at crossroads in the past, and unfortunately we have usually taken the wrong fork," Jones said in his victory speech. "Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, you took the right fork."
NBA legend Charles Barkley returned to his native Alabama to campaign for Jones in the closing days and told CNN after the Democrat's victory, "We got a bunch of rednecks and ignorant people, but we got some amazing people here and they rose up today."
It's the first major electoral blow to Trump since his own upset victory just over a year ago, giving Democrats a special election win after several near misses. Democrats were victorious in November in the Virginia and New Jersey governors' races, but the win in such a red state that Trump won by almost 30 points is a political earthquake heading into the 2018 midterm elections.
The Crazy, Unbelievable Alabama Senate Race Careens To An End
Politics
The Crazy, Unbelievable Alabama Senate Race Careens To An End
The president had come to Moore's defense, casting doubt on the women's allegations — much as he has done with the multiple women who have accused him of sexual assault. While Trump didn't campaign with Moore, he did hold a rally just across the border from Alabama in Pensacola, Fla., on Friday evening and recorded a robocall on his behalf, urging voters to choose Moore because he would support his agenda in the Senate. And after Trump reaffirmed his endorsement for Moore last week, the Republican National Committee reinstated its financial support for the GOP nominee after having pulled it following the accusations.
Trump was unusually restrained on Twitter late Tuesday, congratulating Jones and refraining from placing blame.
