BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In a stunning conclusion to a contest that received international attention, Democrat Doug Jones is the apparent stunning winner over Republican Roy Moore in the Senate race in this deeply conservative state, according to an NBC News projection.
It took an extraordinary alignment of events, including a sex scandal involving teenagers, for Alabamians to elect their first Democrat to the Senate in 25 years, but they triggered a political earthquake that will be felt far and wide.
With 99 percent of the vote in, Jones was leading 50-48 percent, or 673,236 votes to 652,300 votes — a margin of more than 20,000.
However, Moore refused to concede Tuesday night, telling supporters in Montgomery that he may pursue a recount.
“It’s not over,” Moore said. “That’s what we’ve got to do, is wait on God and have this process play out.”
The current margin appears too large for an automatic recount, which is triggered if the candidates are separated by less than half a percentage point, but Moore could call for a recount if he’s willing to pay for one himself.
The apparent outcome was another stinging defeat for President Donald Trump, who bucked his party’s congressional leadership to stage a last-minute rescue mission for Moore. And it was his second in a state he won overwhelmingly in 2016, after he tried to pull Sen. Luther Strange across the line in the GOP primary against Moore in September.
Trump responded Tuesday night on Twitter with relative magnanimity, conceding the race before Moore spoke.
Moore adamantly denied multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with underage girls decades ago, which had dogged his campaign for weeks and kept him largely hidden from voters down the homestretch, but they proved too difficult for him to overcome.
Stronger than expected turnout — especially from African-Americans — helped Jones overcome the state’s conservative slant, echoing results Democrats have seen in other races this year.
With his voice hoarse after a long campaign that included more than 230 events over the past two months, Jones, 63, thanked supporters for believing in him against the odds as confetti rained down from the ceiling.
“I have been waiting all my life and now I just don’t know what the hell to say,” the former federal prosecutor said. “This entire race has been about dignity and respect. This campaign has been about common courtesy and decency.”
The unusual election, which proved almost impossible to poll, captivated both national political observers and voters in Alabama, where Moore’s baggage combined with an unusually motivated Democratic Party to create the conditions for an upset of historic proportions.
In a race filled with extraordinary moments, one came just before voters went to the polls, when Sen. Richard Shelby, Alabama’s long-serving Republican senator, announced he could not support his party’s nominee.
“I try to get along with everybody,” he told reporters in the Capitol. “I know Roy Moore but I’ll tell you, I didn’t vote for him.”
Turnout was relatively brisk for a special election two weeks before Christmas, with Secretary of State John Merrill saying he expected about 25 percent of voters to cast a ballot. Some poll workers reported a spike in new voters, while Jones officials closely watched African-American precincts hoping for strong turnout.
The final sprint of the campaign was marked by the appearance of celebrities and national political figures, who had previously stayed away from a state known for being hostile to outside interventions.
Trump recorded a robocall for Moore, while former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden ran their own for Jones. Basketball star Charles Barkley stumped with Jones on Monday and urged Alabamians to “stop looking like idiots” and reject Moore at a Jones election eve rally.
Former Trump adviser and Breitbart News leader Steve Bannon flew into the state for a third time Monday to reinforce the fact that he had stuck with Moore when other Republicans turned their back, just as he had defended Trump after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape a month before the presidential election last year.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and others desperately tried to push Moore out of the race after nine women came forward to accuse him of pursuing them as teenagers. But Moore, a former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, who had given up that position twice rather than back down from a fight, dug in his heels once again.