Roy Moore v.s. Doug Jones: What To Know Before Tuesday Election

BIRMINGHAM, AL - The Dec. 12 Senate election between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones has provided a bevy of headlines across the country, and as the election nears, Alabamians are left to decide who will represent them in the U.S. Senate. Beyond all of the national headlines and drama surrounding this election, maybe the most significant aspect of this election has been how close Jones has been able to stay to Moore in polls, even before news of scandal hit.

Jones entered November trailing Moore by single digits in most polls, which had been unheard of in Alabama since the 90s - the last time a Democratic senator was elected from Alabama. According to polls from Real Clear Politics, Jones trails Moore by an average of 2.5 points as of Friday.

Although Jones vowed to campaign on what he called "kitchen table issues" including crime, education, economics and Constitutional issues, none of that mattered after November 9, when The Washington Post published a story wherein four women accused Moore of pursuing them sexually and romantically when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.

After that, more allegations surfaced regarding Moore and teen girls, and the stories seemed to reveal a pattern of behavior by Moore in that regard. Moore has denied the allegations, and said they are politically motivated. However, throughout the month of November the race to fill the Alabama Senate seat focused almost entirely on the alleged sex scandal, despite Jones attempting to stay clear of the issue, trying to keep his campaign centered on its initial platform of "kitchen table issues."

Support of Moore from national GOP leaders fell off after the allegations surfaced, although in Alabama, Moore only lost a slight amount of support among Republican voters. And many local Republican leaders even came to Moore's defense. In once instance, State Auditor Jim Zeigler said nothing Moore did was illegal.

"Take the Bible. Zachariah and Elizabeth for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist," Ziegler told The Washington Examiner. "Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.
"There's just nothing immoral or illegal here," Zeigler said. "Maybe just a little bit unusual."

This local support for Moore was not shared by national GOP leaders including President Donald Trump, who initially said Moore should step down if the allegations were true. Seeing that support for Moore has remained strong, the GOP has embraced Moore again in recent weeks, stressing the importance of the tax reform bill to pass and the need for Moore's support of the bill. Trump himself gave strong endorsements for Moore, taking to Twitter Friday morning, saying, "LAST thing the Make America Great Again Agenda needs is a Liberal Democrat in Senate where we have so little margin for victory already. The Pelosi/Schumer Puppet Jones would vote against us 100% of the time. He’s bad on Crime, Life, Border, Vets, Guns & Military. VOTE ROY MOORE!"

The support Jones has received from national Democratic leaders and celebrities could possibly have had an opposite effect on the race, as Moore's campaign ads and rallies have recently focused more on "Alabama values" and how outsiders cannot come in to Alabama and tell people how to vote, and that only Alabamians know what is best for the state.

When Jones began his campaign he requested repeatedly for Moore to debate him publicly, and Moore refused, which could have hurt Moore's campaign before the sexual misconduct scandal dominated the election discussion. For the most part, Moore's political positions had been mostly linked to his history of touting the 10 commandments as the law of the land, and statements he had made in his two decades of prior public service as a district attorney and judge. Jones had been timid to use the allegations against Moore in his campaign messages, trying instead to remain focused on his original platform - to defeat Moore using issues important to Alabamians, and using Moore's lack of comment on issues as his ammunition.

By December, Jones and his campaign started using the sexual misconduct allegations as ammunition against Moore. Despite the allegations, polls show Moore's core supporters have remained loyal, as most have said they either do not believe the allegations against him or find that the allegations - even if true - would not make them vote for Jones.

The election is Tuesday, and the deadline to register has passed, as has the deadline for absentee ballots to be sent. At this point, the vote is now in the hands of the Alabama voters. Polling stations will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. To find out registration status and polling locations, voters may go to the Secretary of State website here.

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