The Alabama special election is over. The polls have closed and the results are not pretty. Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore by less than 10,000 votes. The election was called at 49.5% for Jones, 48.8% for Moore, and a crucial 1.7% for various write-ins. These 22,258 write in votes could have made all the difference, since the numbers were tallied at 643,626 vs. 635,076.
Although many in Alabama are grieving the loss, President Trump seemed to be at least mildly optimistic.
President Trump tweeted his congratulations to Jones on a ‘hard fought victory,’ less than an hour after the race was called.
‘The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win,’ Trump added. ‘he 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!’ (via: Daily Mail)
The accusations against Moore obviously had a detrimental effect on the Moore’s campaign. Whether they are legitimate or the a result of the “#Metoo” trend putting ideas in the heads of his political enemies is widely debated. The campaign to increase felon and black voter turnout in Alabama also helped Jones to slip ahead of Moore in the polls. During the election it was unclear whether or not this would be enough for Jones to win.
As the ballots are being counted, turnout in some areas of the state is higher than usual. Yet, CNN’s panel of pundits noted that high black turnout, which is what Democrats are hoping for, might not be enough to win. When Obama ran for re-election in 2012, Alabama black voter turnout reached 28 percent; he still lost the state by over ten points. Former Democratic Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu had a similar fate: a strong showing with black voters in 2014, but got wiped out by the white electorate (via: Townhall)
Moore’s statements that he would like to see homosexuality be illegal may have rallied some of his supporters, but analysts are saying this ultimately may have rallied liberals to do everything they could to hurt his campaign.