Doug Jones: How An Unlikely Victory Has Affected Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, AL - It was one year ago today that one of the most unlikely victories in Alabama political history took place, as Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in a special Senate election to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. The election became a national story and the country's attention focused on Alabama for months as the story unfolded.

Jones has contended that the Washington Post's breaking news story about sexual misconduct in Moore's past was not the reason he became the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama in more than a quarter of a century. Moore, of course, disagrees, evident by pending lawsuits for defamation against his accusers.

Jones has said that his victory was the result of his campaign sticking to "kitchen table issues" and that the state was ready for a change from the old GOP guard. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Patch morning newsletter.)

So, one year later, how has the political climate in Alabama changed - if at all? Some thought Jones' victory would pave the way for more Democrats to get elected in Alabama. Others felt the election was a simple case of the GOP putting the wrong candidate against Jones.

The 'Jones Effect' in Alabama

What we do know is that Jones did pave the way for more Democrats to enter national and statewide elections. GOP mainstays in Washington such as Mike Rogers, Martha Roby, Gary Palmer and Robert Aderholt, who have run unopposed in general elections in the past, faced persistent and vocal Democratic candidates in the likes of Tabitha Isner, Mallory Hagan and Danner Kline in the mid-term elections. But the GOP incumbents ended up winning re-election in landslide victories.

Related Story: Alabama Democrats Entering 2018 With New Level Of Confidence

We also know that Jones, in his promise to represent all of Alabama and reach across party lines, has received criticism from Alabama Democrats on some level, and was panned by Republicans in the state for his opposition to SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The Report Card

Something supporters and opponents of Jones can agree on is that Jones has been busy since being elected on December 12 last year. He went to work immediately writing legislation and jumping on the chance to co-sponsor bills.

He has co-sponsored bipartisan bills in the Senate with Republicans on issues that have a direct effect on Alabama - veterans affairs, rural health care, agriculture and the opioid crisis.

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Re-election in 2020

Polls show that Jones will have a tough hill to climb in a bid for re-election in 2020. Although no GOP candidate has officially announced a run against Jones, speculation is that possibly Sessions may seek to reclaim his seat (although Sessions has said he would not likely run), or that Luther Strange, who took over for Sessions on an interim basis but lost in the Republican primary to Moore, could run again. Names such as Rep. Bradley Byrne, Rep. Mo Brooks, state lawmaker Del Marsh and Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill have also been mentioned for a 2020 Seante run.

Byrne said when Jones elected that the chances of Jones winning the seat in 2020 were slim.

"This will never happen again in my lifetime in Alabama," Byrne said in an interview with NPR. "But these things happen in politics, and you have to move on. Doug's a good guy. I'll come up here. I'll work with him as a member of the congressional delegation. But he will not win re-election in 2020 because Alabama's a deep-red state, and we won't be electing somebody in 2020 that will be on the Democratic side of the column."

Photo by Michael Seale/Patch