Jones wins in Alabama, Moore refuses to concede

Doug Jones defeated embattled Republican Roy Moore Tuesday to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama since 1992. But Moore refused to concede defeat, calling for a recount late Tuesday night. “It’s not over,” Moore told supporters late Tuesday night. “We know that God is still in control.” The Associated Press called the race for Jones at 9:23 p.m. CST, nearly two and half hours after polls closed. With all precincts reporting, the unofficial results show Jones leading Moore 49.9 percent to 48.4 percent, a difference of about 21,000 votes. Nearly 23,000 (1.7 percent) of Alabama voters chose to write in a candidate. Alabama election law calls for a recount when the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percent—Jones leads Moore by 1.5 percent. Moore was the overwhelming favorite to claim the seat formerly held by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but the race took a dramatic turn after The Washington Post reported an account of a woman who accused Moore of molesting her when she was 14 and he was 32. Moore denied the accusations and continued to refute any wrongdoing even after more women came forward with similar stories. Jones’ win shrinks the already slim GOP Senate majority down to 51-49, leaving even less margin for error on major legislation—particularly on pro-life issues. Sen. Luther Strange, R-Ala., will continue to serve through the end of the year until Jones takes over in January. President Donald Trump waited to endorse Moore until Dec. 4 and explained Wednesday morning why he originally endorsed Strange in the primary. “I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election,” he tweeted. “I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him!”