Doug Jones Pulls Off a Historic Win Over Roy Moore
Democrat Doug Jones has defeated Republican Roy Moore in a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions in Alabama, according to the Associated Press. Jones, a former prosecutor who brought convictions against Ku Klux Klan members who bombed a Birmingham church during the Civil Rights Movement, gained ground on Moore in the wake of an avalanche of sexual misconduct allegations.
Moore, the former state supreme court judge, who was expelled from office twice for flouting the rulings of higher courts, was accused by nine different women of sexual impropriety in recent weeks. Many say they were underage at the time, including one who says she was 14 when Moore molested her. Another says Moore sexually assaulted her behind the restaurant where she worked when she was 16. Ultimately, that allowed Jones to triumph in a deep red state that Democrats could never have seen as competitive heading into the race.
At least in media predictions, the race was primarily a referendum on Moore. He was an extremist candidate from the beginning, declaring Muslim Americans elected to Congress should not be seated in the body and once opining on a radio show that all amendments after the 10th - including the 14th and 15th, which guarantee equal rights for black Americans - should be struck down.
On Tuesday, his spokesperson said on CNN that Moore "probably" still believes homosexual conduct should be a crime. Ultimately, though, it appears Alabama voters chose to reject him on the basis that a growing number of people have accused him of heinous conduct, even if it was four decades ago.
You Might Also Like
