BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — In a stunning setback for the Republican Party, Democrat Doug Jones was elected Alabama’s next senator Tuesday, flipping a deeply red state after a campaign that showcased the increasing power of sexual misconduct allegations and the limits of President Trump’s political influence.
Jones’s victory in a part of the Deep South that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1992 was a dramatic repudiation of his opponent, Roy Moore, a former state judge twice removed from office. Moore responded to allegations that he made sexual advances on teenagers when he was in his 30s by describing his campaign as a “spiritual battle” against a conspiracy of Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington.
“I was on the Moore bandwagon at first, years back, before you really knew what was going on with him,” said Scott Medders, 32, who voted for Jones and then attended a watch party in Gadsden, Ala., Moore’s home town. “When Jones gets there, I hope he strengthens the military and helps with the wall. But I could not vote for Moore.”
