A new chapter in the trump presidency began this week with the election of democrat doug jones and deep red
Alabama Roy Moore has yet to concede defeat and Jones's victory raises the prospect that the 2018
midterm elections could dramatically shift the balance of power in Congress
But before we get to that let's talk with Don Daly our friend and the host of Alabama Public
televisions Capital Journal to find out what motivated the voters of Alabama to elect a
Democrat Don welcome to Washington week
What did turn the race for Doug Jones in that closing stretch? I?
Think it was probably a combination of factors of course the sexual misconduct allegations
Loomed large and a lot of voters Minds this week
We spoke to a number of voters leading up to
Election Day and many of them said that they were going into the voting booth on Tuesday
Undecided as to which way they were going to vote and would probably make a final decision once they got to the polls on
Tuesday so the sexual misconduct allegations certainly played a role
But there was also the controversies that have followed Roy Moore over his years of public service
Here in Alabama his twice being removed from the state Supreme Court as chief justice
For refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Justice building and also for his orders on gay marriage
so Roy Moore has always been a
polarizing figure in Alabama in some circles although at the same time
He's also had a loyal base of support here Tom when you look at the turnout among traditional democratic voters
african-american voters in Alabama
Women they were significantly higher this time around than we've seen in previous
Contests was that because this election was all about more and the allegations
Or was part of it President Trump in his own reputation in the state
It was certainly I think to some extent about the allegations
Maybe President Trump to a smaller extent and by the same token
I think it was due to a very large and successful get out the vote campaign
by Doug Jones in the week or so leading up to the election on Tuesday Doug Jones really focused hard on getting the
African-american vote out he had the support of several organizations in helping him do so the n-double-a-cp
Among others, and it really paid off
Doug Jones had a great ground game here in Alabama
volunteers who literally went door to door shaking voters hands and asking for their support with a particular emphasis on
African-americans and also younger voters who seemed to play a role in Jones's victory here this week Don in between my visits to the barbecue
joints around Birmingham
I met a lot of suburban Republicans around that city who said they would write in a different
name on the ballot
and they were encouraged by Senator Richard Shelby the veteran senator in the state how much of an influence did Shelby have and
Turning out those
22,000 write-in voters
First I'm glad you got to enjoy our barbecue and second
I think Richard Shelby was indeed an influence on a lot of people there are many who are attributing those?
22,000 something write-in votes that were cast on Tuesday to Richard Shelby who of course
Famously said that he could not vote for Roy Moore and would instead write in the name of another Republican candidate
Although Shelby never revealed who that candidate was it's believed that by and large
Many of those write-in votes cast on Tuesday were cast by Republicans who couldn't vote for Roy Moore and also couldn't bring themselves
to vote for a
Democrat Doug Jones so Richard Shelby is an elder statesman here in Alabama
He is widely respected
And it's it's really believed that he had a major influence and at the very least on the number of write-in ballots that were cast
Could this state Don be turning blue, or is the election and an aberration you you live there?
You're on the ground. Is this a trend at Alabama or just as a fleeting moment I?
Think it's way too early to call it a trend Alabama's a deeply read
Conservative state and I don't I don't see a major turn in things here. Not yet
Anyway, I think this had more to do about the controversy that surrounded Roy Moore and whether Republicans thought he
Would be a viable person to serve in the US Senate for us and whether people believed the sexual misconduct allegations
surrounding him no
I don't see this as a major turn for the here in Alabama
But Doug Jones is certainly hoping to go to Washington and to prove himself
And as he puts it reach across the political aisle build bridges and make his leadership less about party and more about the people
He's gonna be a senator to watch that is for sure Don and when can we expect him to actually be in Washington and sworn?
in
Well at least not until after Christmas of course judge Moore has refused to concede the race. He says he wants to wait until
provisional and overseas military ballots are cast before he concedes and so the Secretary of State here in Alabama says that
Those ballots won't be counted and the vote won't be certified until at least December
26th and no later than January 3rd
so it will probably be after the first of the year before Doug Jones goes to Washington a
Christmas gift for Alabama Democrats and Democrats nationally will be keeping an eye on your state Don Daly of
Alabama Public Television, thank you
Thank you. It was a pleasure