quarta-feira, 13 de dezembro de 2017

Doug Jones wins Alabama Senate seat: 'I am truly overwhelmed' /Alabama election: Democrats defeat Roy Moore, dealing huge blow to Trump



Alabama election: Democrats defeat Roy Moore, dealing huge blow to Trump
Doug Jones becomes first Democrat to win any statewide office in Alabama in decades after Moore’s campaign for Senate marred by sexual assault claims

Roy Moore’s stunning defeat reveals the limit of Trump-style politics
Doug Jones victory speech: ‘This race has been about dignity’

Ben Jacobs in Montgomery and David Smith in Birmingham, Alabama
Wednesday 13 December 2017 05.41 GMT First published on Wednesday 13 December 2017 03.30 GMT

Democrat Doug Jones won a remarkable upset over controversial rival Roy Moore in the diehard Republican state of Alabama on Tuesday, setting off a political earthquake that shook Washington.

His victory in a special election for a US Senate seat – by a margin of 49.9 to 48.4 with 100% of precincts reporting – is 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.

Moore, who late on Tuesday was refusing to concede the race, 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.

 Many Republicans rushed to distance themselves from Roy Moore in the aftermath of allegations.
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 Many Republicans rushed to distance themselves from Roy Moore in the aftermath of allegations. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Alabama has long faced a profound racial divide which was reflected in the results. According to an exit poll, Jones won 95% of the African-American vote but only 27% of the white vote in the Yellowhammer State. However, heavy African-American turnout on Jones’s behalf overcame Moore’s margins in rural, predominantly white parts of Alabama.

Jones also made significant inroads among college educated whites. He won well-educated Madison County by a margin of 57-40. A center of the aerospace industry, Trump won the county by a margin of 55-38 in 2016.

‘More in common than what would divide us’
Jones emerged to a euphoric reception just before 10pm local time. “Folks, I gotta tell you, I think that I have been waiting all my life and now I just don’t know what the hell to say,” he said, beginning a 10-minute speech. “I have always believed that the people of Alabama had more in common than what would divide us.”

The election had never been either about him or Moore, he insisted. “This entire race has been about dignity and respect. This campaign has been about the rule of law. This campaign has been about common courtesy and decency and making sure everyone in this state, regardless of what zip code you live in, is going to get a fair shake.”

His speech was met with cheers and applause and chants of “USA! USA!”

 Doug Jones waves to supporters after the results were announced.
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 Doug Jones waves to supporters after the results were announced. Photograph: John Bazemore/AP
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.

Shortly after the results were called Tuesday, Trump tweeted his congratulations to Jones:


Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The 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!

5:08 AM - Dec 13, 2017
 50,555 50,555 Replies   14,145 14,145 Retweets   57,453 57,453 likes
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Moore’s defeat is 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.”


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.”

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