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U.S. Senate Election in Alabama

Coverage

Overview • Timeline September 26 Republican primary runoff August 15 Democratic primary August 15 Republican primary

Quick Facts

First primaries: August 15, 2017 Runoff Election: September 26, 2017 General Election: December 12, 2017 Election Winner: Doug Jones (D) Incumbent: Luther Strange (R)

Race Ratings[1]

Cook Political Report: Toss Up[2] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss Up[3] Rothenberg & Gonzales: Toss Up[4]

2017-2018 Special Elections

A special election for the U.S. Senate seat from Alabama was held in 2017.

Former U.S. attorney Doug Jones (D) defeated former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) in the general election on December 12, 2017.^[5] Jones topped Moore by 1.7 points, 50 percent to 48.3 percent.^[6] It was the only congressional special election in 2017 to result in a flipped seat.

Moore did not concede the race and said he considered requesting a recount.^[7]

Why was there no recount?

Under Alabama law, a recount is automatically ordered when a candidate wins by no more than 0.5 percent of all votes cast for the office. Jones led Moore by 1.5 percentage when the count was unofficial.

A recount could also be requested by the losing candidate in some races, but he must pay for the costs.^[8] Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill estimated that the process would cost $1 to $1.5 million.^[9] The relevant state statutes also suggested that candidates for the U.S. Congress cannot petition for recounts.^[10]

Was there a delay in the certification of results because of voter fraud claims?

No. On December 27, 2017, Moore filed a complaint alleging potential voter fraud. His complaint stated the higher voter turnout in Jefferson County was anomalous and that out-of-state voters had participated in the election. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) said the following morning that Moore's complaint would not affect Jones' certification, which proceeded that afternoon.^[11][12]

When was Jones sworn in?

The state certified the election results on December 28, 2017. Jones was sworn in on January 3, 2018, when the U.S. Senate returned from winter recess.^[13][14]

What happened in the final weeks of the race?

In December 2017, Moore regained some support in public opinion polls—leading or tying Jones in six of the nine polls released that month—and from his own party, in the aftermath of sexual misconduct and assault allegations against him. President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Moore on December 4, 2017, and the Republican National Committee reinstated its fundraising agreement with him on the same day.^[15] McConnell maintained, however, that Moore would face an ethics inquiry if he were seated in the Senate.^[16] For more on the responses to the allegations, please see the timeline of reactions to the allegations.

By the end of November, Jones had outspent Moore on advertising in the general election. According to Advertising Analytics, Jones had aired more than 10,000 television spots and spent $5.6 million. Moore aired one-tenth that number of ads and spent about $800,000 on them.^[17]

Jones also outraised Moore in individual contributions, $11.5 million to $5.2 million.^[18] This was significantly more than any other Democratic Senate candidate in Alabama in the previous 10 years—the previous high in this time period was Vivian Davis Figures in 2008 with $293,000.^[19]

Jones became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Alabama since Richard Shelby in 1992. Shelby later switched his party affiliation to Republican in 1994.

What were the big questions for voters heading into December 12?

• How much money and resources would Democrats invest in the race to support Jones' campaign in the Republican-leaning state?
• How were the candidates and national political figures responding to the sexual assault allegations against Roy Moore?
• Would Trump actively campaign for Moore?

Filing Deadline	Absentee ballot postmark deadline	Primary Election	Runoff Election	General Election
May 17, 2017	August 14, 2017	August 15, 2017	September 26, 2017	December 12, 2017

Candidate overviews: Jones and Moore

Doug Jones (D)

See also: United States Senate special election in Alabama (August 15, 2017 Democratic primary)

Doug Jones was appointed U.S. attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, by former President Bill Clinton (D) in 1997. Jones was the lead prosecutor in the reopened 1963 Birmingham church bombing case that killed four black girls during the Civil Rights Movement. His private practice involved white collar criminal defense and commercial litigation.^[23]

"The national election was very disturbing, quite frankly, and I know a lot of people in this state voted overwhelmingly for President [Donald] Trump. But there were about 37 percent of the people who did not, and they need a voice too," he said a few weeks after announcing his candidacy.^[23]

Jones identified increasing the minimum wage, prioritizing education as a job creator, encouraging renewable energy and conservation, abortion rights, and preventing discrimination against individuals with pre-existing conditions as policy priorities.^[24]

Jones won the Democratic primary on August 15, 2017, defeating Robert Kennedy Jr. and five other candidates. Because Jones received more than 50 percent of the vote, he advanced directly to the December 12 general election ballot without needing to participate in a primary runoff election. While no Democrat had represented Alabama in the Senate since 1997, Jones received support from his party, including an endorsement from former Vice President Joe Biden, who campaigned for him in Alabama on October 3, 2017.^[25][26] The Democratic National Committee also shared its latest voter file with his campaign and provided staffing support and Opposition research group American Bridge produced a 21-page memo on Moore.^[27]

Roy Moore (R)

See also: United States Senate special election in Alabama (August 15, 2017 Republican primary) and United States Senate special election in Alabama (September 26, 2017 Republican primary runoff)

Roy Moore was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2012. He was associated with socially conservative values, having been suspended twice from the court for failing to comply with an order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the courthouse building and the holding in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage legal across the country.

Before sitting on the highest court in Alabama, Moore was a judge in Etowah County and practiced law as an attorney. In announcing his candidacy, Moore said, "My position has always been God first, family then country. I share the vision of President Donald Trump to make America great again."^[28] On his campaign website, he identified implementing a flat tax, giving tax credits for employee health care coverage, encouraging coal mining and oil drilling, and eliminating the Common Core as policy priorities.^[29]

He was endorsed by the Alabama Republican Assembly, whose membership is self-described as being "Reagan conservatives, who believe in small government, lower taxes, free market capitalism, a strong defense, the right to life, and a decent America."^[30] He was criticized in a Senate Leadership Fund ad for taking a salary from a charity he and his wife ran while sitting on the state supreme court.^[31]

More defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange in the Republican primary runoff election on September 26, 2017. Although he received an endorsement from President Donald Trump and the majority of the $13.9 million spent on the primary by outside organizations went to support his run—including backing from the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund super PAC—Strange never topped Moore in any public opinion poll released following the August primary. He was the first incumbent senator to lose a primary since Indiana's Richard Lugar in 2012

Candidates

Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.

General election candidates

• Doug Jones (Democrat) a
• Roy Moore (Republican)
• Ron Bishop (write-in candidate)^[32]
• Arlester (Mac) McBride (write-in candidate)^[33]

Republican primary runoff candidates

• Roy Moore a
• Luther Strange

Primary candidates

Election results

General election (December 12, 2017)

U.S. Senate, Alabama general election, December 12, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democrat	Doug Jones	50%	673,896
	Republican	Roy Moore	48.3%	651,972
	Independent	Write-in	1.7%	22,852
Total Votes				1,348,720
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

Republican primary runoff (September 26, 2017)

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican primary runoff, September 26, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Roy Moore	54.6%	262,641
	Republican	Luther Strange	45.4%	218,505
Total Votes				481,146
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

Democratic primary (August 15, 2017)

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic primary, August 15, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democrat	Doug Jones	66.1%	109,105
	Democrat	Robert Kennedy	17.7%	29,215
	Democrat	Michael Hansen	6.7%	11,105
	Democrat	Will Boyd	4.9%	8,010
	Democrat	Jason Fisher	2.1%	3,478
	Democrat	Brian McGee	0.9%	1,450
	Democrat	Charles Nana	0.9%	1,404
	Democrat	Vann Caldwell	0.8%	1,239
Total Votes				165,006
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

Republican primary (August 15, 2017)

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican primary, August 15, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Roy Moore	38.9%	164,524
	Republican	Luther Strange	32.8%	138,971
	Republican	Mo Brooks	19.7%	83,287
	Republican	Trip Pittman	6.9%	29,124
	Republican	Randy Brinson	0.6%	2,621
	Republican	Bryan Peeples	0.4%	1,579
	Republican	Mary Maxwell	0.4%	1,543
	Republican	James Beretta	0.3%	1,078
	Republican	Dom Gentile	0.1%	303
	Republican	Joseph Breault	0.1%	252
Total Votes				423,282
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

Issues

Sexual misconduct and assault allegations against Moore

See also: Timeline of sexual misconduct and assault allegations against Roy Moore, 2017

The Washington Post reported on November 9, 2017, that a woman accused Moore of initiating sexual contact with her in 1979 when she was 14 years old. Moore would have been 32 years old at the time. Three other women alleged that Moore pursued them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18 and he was in his 30s. The legal age of consent in Alabama is 16. Moore denied the allegations in a statement, calling them a "desperate political attack."^[34]

Below are listed the three most recent events related to the sexual misconduct charges against Moore during the general election. For a full timeline of the events, click here.

December 7, 2017

• Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), said, "Roy Moore will never have the support of the senatorial committee. We will never endorse him. We won’t support him. I won’t let that happen. Nothing will change. I stand by my previous statement."^[35]

December 8, 2017

• Beverly Young Nelson, who accused Moore of sexually assaulting her in his car when she was 16, said in an interview that the signed yearbook she presented as evidence that Moore knew her included additional notes from her underneath Moore's alleged inscription. The entry read: "To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say, 'Merry Christmas.' Love, Roy Moore D.A., 12-22-77, Olde Hickory House."^[36] Moore denied knowing Nelson, and his attorneys had previously argued at a press conference that the "D.A." abbreviation and restaurant name did not match Moore's handwriting.^[36][37] Nelson maintained in the interview that it was Moore's signature.^[36]

• Stand Up Republic, a social welfare organization founded by 2016 independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin and his running mate Mindy Finn, made a $500,000 ad buy calling on conservatives to reject Moore. The ads reference the sexual misconduct and assault allegations against Moore, which he has denied. In one ad, a Republican voter says that he cannot vote for Moore because he "makes Republicans and us Christians look bad." The second features clips of girls looking into the camera as the narrator asks, "What if she was your little girl? Your daughter? Your sister? What if she was 16 years old, or 15, or even 14? Would you let a 32-year-old man be alone with her? Date her? Undress her? Touch her? Have her touch him? That's what Roy Moore did. He called it dating. We call it unacceptable. That's why we can't support Roy Moore." Neither ad encouraged voters to support Jones.^[38]

December 10, 2017

• Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said in an interview that he voted for a write-in candidate rather than Moore when he cast his ballot early. "I’d rather see the Republican win, but I would hope that Republican would be a write-in. I couldn't vote for Roy Moore. I didn't vote for Roy Moore. But I wrote in a distinguished Republican name. I’d rather see another Republican in there and I’m going to stay with that story. I'm not going to vote for the Democrat, I didn’t vote for the Democrat or advocate for the Democrat. But I couldn’t vote for Roy Moore. The state of Alabama deserves better," Shelby said.^[39]

How did the candidates perform in public opinion polls?

General election

U.S. Senate special election in Alabama, General election, November-December 2017
Poll	Roy Moore (R)	Doug Jones (D)	Undecided/Other	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Fox News December 7-10, 2017	40%	50%	10%	+/-3.0	1,127
Emerson College December 7-9, 2017	53%	44%	3%	+/-3.9	600
Monmouth University December 6-9, 2017	46%	46%	8%	+/-4.2	546
Gravis Marketing December 5-8, 2017	49%	45%	6%	+/-2.8	1,254
Trafalgar Group December 6-7, 2017	51%	46%	3%	+/-2.6	1,419
Raycom News Network/Strategy Research December 4, 2017	50%	43%	7%	+/-2.0	3,200
Big League/Gravis December 1-3, 2017	44%	48%	8%	+/-2.7	1,276
CBS News November 28-December 1, 2017	49%	43%	8%	+/-4.8	1,067
Washington Post/Schar School November 27-30, 2017	47%	50%	3%	+/-4.5	739
JMC Analytics November 27-28, 2017	48%	43%	9%	+/-3.8	650
Change Research November 26-27, 2017	49%	44%	7%	+/-2.3	1,868
Sky Research November 21, 2017	47%	40%	14%	+/-3.1	1,059
Raycom News Network/Strategy Research November 20, 2017	47%	45%	8%	+/-2.0	3,000
Change Research November 14-16, 2017	43%	46%	11%	+/-N/A	2,090
Gravis Marketing November 14-15, 2017	42%	47%	11%	+/-3.5	628
Fox News November 13-15, 2017	42%	50%	8%	+/-3.5	649
National Republican Senatorial Committee November 12-13, 2017	39%	51%	10%	+/-N/A	500
FOX10 News/Strategy Research November 13, 2017	49%	43%	8%	+/-2.0	3,000
Emerson College November 9-11, 2017	55%	45%	0%	+/-3.9	600
JMC Analytics November 9-11, 2017	42%	46%	11%	+/-4.1	575
Decision Desk HQ November 9, 2017	46%	46%	8%	+/-4.3	515
Raycom News Network/Strategy Research November 6, 2017	51%	40%	9%	+/-2.0	2,200
Note: A "0%" finding means the question was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

U.S. Senate special election in Alabama, General election, September-October 2017
Poll	Roy Moore (R)	Doug Jones (D)	Undecided/Other	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Axis Research October 24-26, 2017	56%	39%	5%	+/-4.5	503
FOX10 News/Strategy Research October 19, 2017	52%	41%	7%	+/-3.0	3,000
Raycom News Network/Strategy Research October 16, 2017	51%	40%	9%	+/-2-3	3,000
Fox News October 14-16, 2017	42%	42%	16%	+/-3.5	801
Cygnal October 2-5, 2017	49%	41%	10%	+/-4.4	497
JMC Analytics September 30-October 1, 2017	48%	40%	12%	+/-4.4	500
Decision Desk HQ September 27-28, 2017	50%	45%	5%	+/-4.0	590
Emerson College September 21-23, 2017	52%	30%	18%	+/-4.3	519
Emerson College September 8-9, 2017	44%	40%	16%	+/-4.8	416
Note: A "0%" finding means the question was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

What were the campaign strategies of each candidate?

Spending

Post-Special Election Report

Post-Special Election Report[40]
Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Doug Jones	$10,307,692	$11,512,555	$1,405,617
Roy Moore	$996,623	$1,583,899	$48,770

Pre-Special Election Report

Pre-Special Election Report[41]
Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Doug Jones	$10,182,025	$8,663,278	$2,543,090
Roy Moore	$1,767,693	$1,674,594	$636,046

October Quarterly

October Quarterly 2017 Report[42]
Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Doug Jones	$1,322,593	$385,572	$1,002,463
Roy Moore	$1,106,920	$849,380	$542,947

July Quarterly

Combined April and July Quarterly Reports for the Republican Primary[43]
Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Luther Strange	$2,524,170	$1,481,488	$1,335,844
Randy Brinson	$180,545	$138,073	$42,471
Mo Brooks	$314,812	$110,247	$1,375,503
Roy Moore	$308,747	$47,407	$261,340
Trip Pittman	$302,545	$31,447	$271,097

Combined April and July Quarterly Reports for the Democratic Primary[44]
Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Will Boyd	$6,684	$6,625	$59
Jason Fisher	$15,562	$13,719	$1,842
Doug Jones	$158,418	$57,228	$101,190
Robert Kennedy Jr.	$11,600	$398	$11,202

Campaign advertisements

As of November 27, 2017, Jones had outspent Moore on advertising in the general election. According to Advertising Analytics, Jones had aired more than 10,000 television spots and spent $5.6 million. Moore aired one-tenth that number of ads and spent about $800,000 on them.^[45]

On December 2, 2017, the Moore campaign requested that the Jones campaign retract an ad which highlighted Moore's judicial record in three cases involving sexual abuse and assault of minors, arguing that it was misleading. A narrator says in the ad, "Alabama, there's a pattern. In a 2014 case involving a man convicted of abusing two underage girls, Judge Roy Moore disagreed and wrote the dissenting opinion. In a 2015 case involving a man who pleaded guilty to raping an underage girl, Roy Moore dissented again. And Roy Moore was the only Supreme Court justice who sided with a felon convicted of sexual abuse of a child at a daycare center. Court documents, real facts. Roy Moore's disturbing conduct."^[46][47]

In the first two cases, Moore argued in dissenting opinions that the court should have considered whether the sexual history of the accusers should have been admissible evidence. In the 2015 case, Moore argued the facts in the case did not support one of the two charges against the defendant.^[47]

Moore said in a statement, "In all three Supreme Court cases mentioned in Doug Jones's latest campaign ad, he blatantly misrepresents the facts and my judicial record. I did not disagree with the convictions of the defendants in those cases."^[46]

The Moore campaign also took issue with an ad from the pro-Jones super PAC Highway 31, in which the narrator says, "Your vote is public record, and your community will know whether or not you helped stop Roy Moore." The campaign requested the ad be pulled and Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) called the ad voter intimidation. A spokesman for Highway 31 responded, "The Secretary of State is distorting the intent of the ad. Whether or not someone votes is public knowledge. The ad is not improper."^[47][48]

Doug Jones

Support

"Had Enough?" - Jones campaign ad, released October 17, 2017

"Unity" - Jones campaign ad, released October 23, 2017

"Fix It" - Jones campaign ad, released November 6, 2017

"Common Ground" - Jones campaign ad, released November 14, 2017

"Strong" - Highway 31 ad, released November 21, 2017

Oppose

"Deceptive and Dangerous" - Great America Alliance ad, released October 19, 2017

Roy Moore

Support

"Born to Fight" - Moore campaign ad, released June 3, 2017

"Conservative: Alabama Over Washington" - Moore campaign ad, released July 25, 2017

"Defeat the Deceivers" - Moore campaign ad, released August 8, 2017

"Rebuild America's Military" - Moore campaign ad, released November 10, 2017

Oppose

"Swamp Critter" - Strange campaign ad, released September 6, 2017

"Education" - Moore campaign ad, released November 27, 2017

"Never Stops" - Moore campaign ad, released December 1, 2017

"The Same" - Highway 31 ad, released December 5, 2017

Online presence

The following social media statistics were compiled on December 5, 2017, to provide a snapshot of user engagement with each candidate online. Although Moore had more followers than Jones on Facebook, Jones expanded his presence on that social network at a greater rate: 47 percent vs. 17 percent. On Twitter, however, the opposite was true. Jones' follower count of 89,900 showed a growth rate of 53 percent. Moore increased his Twitter followers by 127 percent over the same time period to 73,100.

December 5, 2017

Social media presence on December 5, 2017
	Facebook			Twitter
Candidate	Followers	Likes	Comments on Last Post	Followers	Following	Tweets
Jones	76,442	74,909	1,551	89,900	248	379
Moore	77,481	78,084	122	73,100	36	788

November 9, 2017

Social media presence on November 9, 2017
	Facebook			Twitter
Candidate	Followers	Likes	Comments on Last Post	Followers	Following	Tweets
Jones	51,931	50,853	888	58,900	246	233
Moore	66,168	67,232	752	32,200	36	673

Tweets by Doug Jones Tweets by Roy Moore

How did outside organizations and party leaders get involved in the race?

General election endorsements and campaigning

Doug Jones

• Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sent an email to his supporters to raise money for Jones on October 10, 2017. He wrote, "This race is winnable. Doug is running against one of the most dangerous Senate candidates I've ever seen—a candidate who has suggested the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook was punishment for America's immorality, and that being gay should be illegal. These views are plain scary, and they don't represent the views of the people of Alabama, or America."^[49]

• The Washington Post reported that Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) organized several campaign events for Jones on December 10, 2017, featuring Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), former Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.), and other prominent black elected officials.^[50]

Roy Moore

• Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) endorsed Moore on October 16, 2017.^[51] Lee and Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) pulled their endorsements on November 10, 2017, following a report in The Washington Post that alleged Moore had a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl.^[52]

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) endorsed Moore on October 17, 2017. "​Judge Roy Moore has spent a lifetime defending and standing up for the Constitution while fighting for the people of Alabama. We need more people in Washington, D.C. that will stand on principle and defend the Constitution​," he said in a statement.^[51]

• President Donald Trump tweeted his support for Moore on December 4, 2017, writing, "Democrats refusal to give even one vote for massive Tax Cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama. We need his vote on stopping crime, illegal immigration, Border Wall, Military, Pro Life, V.A., Judges 2nd Amendment and more. No to Jones, a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet!" A White House official also said on the same day that Trump had endorsed Moore following a phone call with the Senate candidate. While Trump has said that he would not stump for Moore in Alabama, he was scheduled to hold a rally 20 miles away in Pensacola, Florida, on December 8, 2017, four days before the Alabama Senate special election.^[53]

Republican primary endorsements

The table below summarizes the endorsements Ballotpedia identified for the two Republican candidates in the primary runoff race.

Most recent endorsement: The Tea Party Express PAC endorsed Moore on September 25, 2017.

Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at federal@ballotpedia.org.

Republican candidate endorsements
Endorsement	Date	Moore	Strange
Federal officials
Ben Carson, Housing and Urban Development Secretary[54]	September 22, 2017
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa)[55]	September 21, 2017
Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.)[56]	September 20, 2017
Sebastian Gorka, former deputy assistant to the President[57]	September 19, 2017
Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)[58]	September 16, 2017
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.)[59]	September 16, 2017
Former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Ky.)[60]	September 12, 2017
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)[61]	September 8, 2017
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)[62]	September 7, 2017
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chair of the House Freedom Caucus[63]	September 6, 2017
Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.)[64]	August 23, 2017
President Donald Trump (R)[65]	August 8, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell[66]	June 8, 2017
National figures
Roger Stone, conservative author[67]	September 20, 2017
Richard Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com[68]	September 15, 2017
Ann Coulter, conservative commentator[69]	September 14, 2017
Laura Ingraham, conservative commentator[69]	September 14, 2017
L. Brent Bozell, ForAmerica chairman[70]	September 13, 2017
Erick Erickson, conservative blogger[71]	September 12, 2017
Ed Martin, Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund president[72]	September 8, 2017
Sean Hannity, Fox News host[73]	September 6, 2017
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas[74]	September 5, 2017
Steve Bannon, former White House Chief Strategist[75]	August 29, 2017
Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska[76]	August 24, 2017
Alan Keyes, former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs under Ronald Reagan[77]	August 16, 2017
James Dobson, evangelical leader[78]	August 12, 2017
Phil Robertson, reality television personality[79]	August 10, 2017
Chuck Norris, actor[80]	August 7, 2017
Steve Deace, writer for the Washington Times[81]	August 4, 2017
John Giles, former President of the Christian Coalition of Alabama[82]	August 3, 2017
State figures
State Sen. Phil Williams (R-Ala.)[83]	August 30, 2017
State Sen. Trip Pittman (R-Ala.)[84]	August 26, 2017
Jim Zeigler, state auditor of Alabama[85]	August 25, 2017
State Sen. Larry Stutts (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Sen. Tom Whatley (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Mike Ball (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. K.L. Brown (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Mack Butler (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Danny Crawford (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Lynn Greer (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Tommy Hanes (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Ed Henry, chairman of Trump's state campaign (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Mike Holmes (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Becky Nordgren (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Ritchie Whorton (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Rich Wingo (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
State Rep. Randy Wood (R-Ala.)[86]	August 22, 2017
Fob James, former Governor of Alabama[87]	August 9, 2017
Tim James, former opponent to Moore[87]	August 9, 2017
Jim Carns (R-Ala.)[88]	August 8, 2017
Perry O. Hooper Jr., co-chair of Trump campaign in Alabama[89]	May 17, 2017
Bill Armistead, former Chair of the Alabama Republican Party and former State Senator[90]	June 6, 2017
Local figures
Chris Curry, former Shelby County sheriff[91]	July 13, 2017
Organizations
Coalition of African-American Pastors[92]	September 18, 2017
United States Chamber of Commerce[93]	September 6, 2017
National Organization for Marriage[94]	August 30, 2017
National Federation of Republican Assemblies[95]	August 28, 2017
National Association for Gun Rights[96]	August 28, 2017
National Right To Life[97]	August 3, 2017
Gun Owners of America[98]	August 2, 2017
Alabama Republican Assembly[99]	July 31, 2017
Alabama Credit Union Association[100]	July 6, 2017
Alabama Rural Electric Association[101]	May 31, 2017
National Rifle Association[102]	May 26, 2017
Alabama Farmers Federation[103]	May 22, 2017
PACs
Tea Party Express PAC[104]	September 25, 2017
Family Research Council Action PAC[105]	September 18, 2017
National Association of Realtors PAC[106]	September 18, 2017
Senate Conservatives Fund[107]	September 5, 2017
America First[108]	August 11, 2017
Senate Leadership Fund[109]	May 15, 2017

Endorsement changes

Ballotpedia tracked whether or not endorsers of Mo Brooks prior to the August 15 primary changed their endorsements to either Moore or Strange in advance of the September 26 runoff. The table below includes the endorsements Brooks received in the primary and indicates if the endorser changed to back one of the runoff candidates. On September 16, Brooks himself endorsed Moore.^[110]

Have individuals/organizations re-aligned their endorsements for the runoff?
Pre-August 15 primary endorsement of Brooks	Re-aligned with Moore	Re-aligned with Strange
Federal officials
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), chair of the House Freedom Caucus[111]
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.)[112]
National figures
Ann Coulter, conservative commentator[113]
Sean Hannity, Fox News host[112]
Rep. Ed Henry (R-Ala.), chairman of Trump's state campaign[114]
Mark Levin, conservative radio host[115]
Six Alabama delegates for Donald Trump[116]
Organizations
Alabama Patriots Tea Party[117]
Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund[118]
Women Vote Trump[119]
PACs
Courageous Conservatives PAC[120]
Senate Conservatives Fund[121]

Democratic primary endorsements

Democratic candidate endorsements
Endorsement	Jones	Kennedy Jr.
Federal officials
Former vice president Joe Biden[122]
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)[123]
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.)[124]
Organizations
Alabama Democratic Conference[125]

Independent spending during the general election

Between September 27, 2017, and December 5, 2017, 16 organizations collectively spent $4.7 million on the general election. Approximately 87 percent of that spending came from Highway 31, a super PAC jointly formed by the Senate Majority PAC, Priorities USA Action, and a group of Alabama Democrats on November 6, 2017, to support Jones' candidacy.^{[126][127][128]} On December 26, 2017, Senate Majority PAC spokesman Chris Hayden confirmed that the PAC had been the primary donor to Highway 31 in an email message to the Associated Press.^[129]

The following organizations contributed money during this time period:

• The Advocacy Fund, in support of Jones and opposition to Moore.

• Color of Change PAC, in support of Jones and opposition to Moore.

• Conservative Majority PAC, in support of Moore.

• Courageous Conservatives PAC, in support of Moore and opposition to Jones.

• FedUp PAC, in support of Moore.

• Great America Alliance, in support of Moore and opposition to Jones.

• Great America PAC, in support of Moore.

• Highway 31, in support of Jones and opposition to Moore.

• National Association for Gun Rights PAC, in opposition to Jones.

• Our Future in America, in support of Jones.

• Patriots for Economics Freedom, in support of Moore.

• Proven Conservatives PAC, in opposition to Jones.

• Restore Our Godly Heritage PAC, in support of Moore and opposition to Jones.

• Senate Conservatives Fund, in support of Moore.

• Solution Fund PAC, in support of Moore and opposition to Jones.

• USW Works, in support of Jones.

Independent spending prior to the general election

As of September 25, 2017, 25 organizations had collectively spent $13.9 million on the race. Approximately 68 percent of that spending came from the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) to back incumbent Sen. Luther Strange.^[130]

By comparison, the average amount of money spent on Senate primaries by outside organizations in 2016 was $2.9 million; the median was $941,816. Four organizations spent less than $530,000 on Republicans in the Senate race in Alabama in 2016.^[131]

The following organizations made expenditures in this race:

• A Time for Choosing spent $80,000 on advertising and voter outreach for Moore.

• America First Action, Inc. spent $155,000 on digital advertising to support Strange.

• America First Policies spent more than $450,000 on a mail campaign and advertising for Strange.

• Citizens Against Carpetbaggers spent more than $21,000 to oppose Strange.

• The Conservative Majority Political Action Committee spent more than $30,000 on direct mail fundraisers to support Moore. The PAC described its purpose on its website as identifying and supporting candidates "with the moral courage to assert and defend our God-given rights" and "return this nation to its virtuous foundational core."^[132]

• Courageous Conservatives PAC spent $3,500 on social media advertising for Moore.

• Family Research Council Action PAC spent $10,000 on social media advertising for Moore.

• Great America PAC spent $20,000 on "estimated online voter contact" for Moore.

• Great America Alliance spent more than $118,000 on advertising to support Moore.

• Human Rights Campaign PAC spent approximately $5,000 on mailers and get-out-the-vote expenses to oppose Moore and Strange.

• Madison Project, Inc. spent $68,000 on advertising to oppose Strange.

• The National Association for Gun Rights PAC spent aproximately $500 on an email campaign for Moore.

• The National Republican Senatorial Committee spent $200,000 on media placement and production to support Strange.

• The National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund endorsed Strange, saying in a statement, "Strange’s leadership on Second Amendment issues as a US senator and Alabama Attorney General has earned him the highest attainable rating, an 'A+' from the NRA-PVF in the Aug. 15 Republican special primary election. An 'A+' is reserved for a legislator with not only an excellent voting record on all critical NRA issues, but who has made a vigorous effort to promote and defend the Second Amendment."^[133] The NRA-PVF spent more than $1 million to support Strange.

• Our Future in America, Inc. spent $26,000 on online advertising to support Moore.

• Patriots for Economic Freedom, a PAC which describes itself as "dedicated to lower taxes, less government spending and more freedom," spent $14,000 to support Moore.^[134]

• Proven Conservative PAC spent $125,000 to support Moore through television ad buys.

• Public Advocate of the United States spent more than $6,000 on digital listings and services to support Moore's campaign.

• Revive America PAC spent nealy $10,000 on voter contact for Moore.

• The Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) spent $65,000 on email marketing and donation processing to support Brooks. Following the primary, SCF spent $46,000 to back Moore.

• Politico reported on July 31, 2017, that the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) would spend up to $8 million to back Strange.^[135]
  • On May 8, 2017, the SLF announced that it had reserved $2.6 million for advertisements to support Strange in the special election slated to appear between July 11 and August 15, 2017.
  • According to Chris Pack, the organization's spokesperson, the spending was the first in a series of intended purchases. Pack said, "A lot of people in glass houses are throwing stones in Alabama, and they will quickly realize that this won't be going unanswered. This $2.65 million buy is just an initial down payment on Senate Leadership Fund's commitment to supporting Senator Strange."^[136]
  • The SLF released two ads on July 12, 2017, criticizing Mo Brooks for not supporting President Donald Trump and comparing him to high-profile Democratic figures like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
  • The SLF announced on August 31, 2017, that they planned to spend $3.6 million in TV, radio, and digital advertising in the final weeks leading up to the runoff election.^[137]

• Solution Fund spent approximately $45,000 on digital advertising and automated calls to support Moore.

• The Swamp Drainers Foundation, a PAC founded in June 2017, spent $85,000 on media production and advertising to oppose Strange.

• The Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund spent approximately $13,000 on robocalls to support Brooks.

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent more than $965,000 to support Strange.

On June 28, 2017, the Republican National Committee also approved $350,000 to be spent on the Alabama Senate race. Politico reported that these funds were expected to boost Strange's campaign.^[138]

Political analysis of general election outcome

After the election, party leaders and journalists tried to explain the causes and consequences of Jones defeating Moore. Frequently mentioned issues included the sexual misconduct and assault allegations against Moore, the involvement of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in the race, discontent with the Republican Party, and Democratic coalition-building.

Flawed candidate

Philip Wegmanm, Washington Examiner

"Roy Moore did something normally so impossible it would be considered downright miraculous if it weren’t so odious. By running such a terrible campaign and by having such an awful past, Moore helped Alabama adopt New York values. More specifically, he pushed them to elect Doug Jones, the only pro-abortion senator from the Deep South.

After credible, substantiated, and corroborated allegations surfaced that Moore had a thing for teenagers, the race narrowed. Moore went on the defensive. Jones went on the offensive. And Alabama, as the New Yorker observed, was forced to decide between 'the morality of sexual predation and the morality of abortion.' Many voters likely made their decision on pragmatic grounds, no doubt reasoning that Jones couldn’t do much to push pro-abortion reforms. Assuming there isn’t another Supreme Court nomination or big-ticket legislation before 2018 when the Senate shakes up next, they’re probably right.

But the simple fact remains that Moore, the aspiring one-man vice squad, made social conservatives vote against their conscience. In short, he broke the Bible Belt."^[139]

Editors, National Review

"Roy Moore did the nearly impossible and lost an Alabama Senate seat for the Republican party.

Only a historically flawed candidate could have managed it, and Roy Moore fit the bill. Twice bounced from the Alabama supreme court, prone to kooky and noxious views, ignorant of the law and public policy, Moore was already a shaky electoral bet even before allegations from multiple women emerged that he had dated or forced his attentions on them when he was a grown man and they were teenagers. Moore’s denials were tinny, contradictory, and unconvincing.

A swath of the GOP tried to do the prudent and decent thing and force Moore from the race in favor of a write-in candidate. But Moore, who has made a career of poor judgment, insisted that he wouldn’t leave. Probably only President Trump had the sway to get him out of the race. After a brief period of sitting on the fence, Trump decided to back Moore, under the influence of his cut-rate Svengali Steve Bannon, who never met a disreputable political candidate he didn’t like."^[140]

Chris Cillizza, CNN

"Moore is, was and always will be a deeply flawed candidate. Even before the allegations of sexual impropriety arose, Moore had a history of underperforming other Republican office holders on the ballot.

Yes, he had his core base of 35% or so who would never leave him no matter what he said or what people said about him. And, in a Republican primary, that was enough. But Moore showed zero inclination or ability to ever expand beyond that hardcore base. His candidacy felt more geared toward the 1950s than 2017.

Meanwhile, Jones avoided being labeled a national Democrat and did everything he could to make the race about values -- and who better shared the values of the average Alabama voter. He didn't spend tons of time talking about abortion or guns. He talked about the economy and about how Moore let his own personal ideology get in the way of doing what was right for the state.

The lesson: Even in a state as red as Alabama, you can't nominate a massively flawed candidate and just expect the partisanship of the electorate to deliver a win for you. Particularly when the other side nominated a credible alternative."^[141]

Campaign strategy

Paul Gattis, AL.com

"Could Moore have done more? Instead of being the absentee candidate who ran an absentee campaign, could Moore have overcome his eventual small margin of defeat by embracing voters rather than keeping himself at safe distances if not outright ignoring them?

Moore essentially campaigned on reputation alone. He sat back with the expectation that the support he's enjoyed in twice being elected to the Alabama Supreme Court would carry him past Jones—the energetic, workaholic candidate who would squeeze three events in three different cities in the same day.

Moore, meanwhile, always seemed like the reluctant candidate. That's not to say he didn't want to win and become senator, it's just that he seemed to have a distaste for the pursuit of votes. ... They decided that the allegations mattered. They decided that Moore's campaign was more about his vision of how the world should be rather than an effort to see the world through the eyes of his voters."^[142]

Steve Bannon

Katie Glueck, McClatchy Washington Bureau

"Blame for that situation, some Republicans say, sits in part with Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist who now helms the hard-right outlet Breitbart. He was a vocal backer of Moore’s during the primary runoff and in the general election, and has pledged to be deeply involved in GOP primaries going forward.

'Hopefully voters learn not to listen to people who make the argument that someone like Roy Moore is the right direction for the party,' Williams said. 'This is a real blow for the Bannon wing of the party. They can no longer claim their preferred candidate prevails in general elections. That wing of the party took what should have been a slam-dunk race…and threw it away to a Democrat with a candidate who not only turned out to be a loose cannon, but a child molester.'

In a statement, the Senate Leadership Fund, a Mitch McConnell-aligned super PAC that spent millions, unsuccessfully, against Moore in the GOP Senate primary in Alabama, also blasted Bannon’s 'fiasco.'"^[143]

David Smith, The Guardian

"At first, when the Washington Post reported that Moore faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with teenagers, it did, according to all known political rules, render him a toxic figure. Trump kept his distance, Senate leader Mitch McConnell spurned him and even Fox News host Sean Hannity wanted answers.

But what made this different from past norms was the swaggering Bannon, perhaps seduced into believing he could work miracles after his success with Trump last year. Bannon kept faith with 70-year-old Moore and, slowly but surely, reeled Trump, Hannity and the Republican National Committee back in with a brazen appeal to political expediency."^[144]

Eliana Johnson and Alex Isenstadt, Politico

"Prior to the election, McConnell told associates that he wanted to destroy Bannon politically, according to one person familiar with the Republican leader’s thinking. Their goal: to curtail his influence ahead of the 2018 midterms, in which Bannon has vowed to recruit candidates to knock off McConnell-backed incumbents.

Bannon is supporting Danny Tarkanian, who has vowed to unseat Nevada’s Republican senator, Dean Heller, as well as former New York congressman and ex-convict Michael Grimm, who is trying to recapture his old House seat.

McConnell hopes Tuesday’s outcome will put a dent in those efforts. His allies argue that Bannon is a charlatan — a man who has sold himself to the president as the guru of the Trump movement who possesses a preternatural understanding of the president’s political base only to drive the president into a ditch in Alabama.

'Bannon hurt Trump by giving him poor advice,' said Scott Reed, a political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The results in Alabama, Reed said, 'hurt the Trump movement.'"^[145]

Mitch McConnell

Sean Hannity, Fox News

"I think Mitch McConnell has a lot of culpability in all of this. I was a Mo Brooks supporter from Day One. ... I thought he would have been a great candidate. The person that came out strongest against Mo Brooks...was Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell literally put himself in the middle of the race time and again, and it didn't work out well for him."^[146]

Andy Campbell, Huffington Post

"No sooner had the election map turned blue than the Republicans at this party began to point fingers.

'There’s blood in the water for Mitch McConnell, it leads back to him. This room is gonna be walking out with a vengeance. We know who’s responsible,' said Chanel Rion, the 27-year-old fiancee of Missouri Senate candidate Courtland Sykes.

Sykes himself was even more fire-and-brimstone, worried that establishment Republicans ― not Democrats ― were winning the war against 'MAGA candidates,' a shorthand for President Donald Trump’s 'make America great again' campaign slogan.

'This is impossible. This is 100-percent an effort by the Washington establishment to keep Roy Moore out of it,' Sykes told HuffPost. 'If they can put a Democrat in office in Alabama, in 2017, to replace Jeff Sessions, even after Donald Trump won by a landslide in 2016, that means they can replace anyone they want. We don’t have an honest republic if this can happen. Does that make sense?'"^[147]

Ben Jacobs, The Guardian

"Besides Trump, other Moore allies were less enthusiastic about the result and cast the blame on the Republican establishment. Andy Surabian, a Bannon ally and chief strategist for the Great America Alliance Super Pac told the Guardian: 'By doing everything in their power to defy the president and throw this race to a liberal Democrat, [senator majority leader Mitch] McConnell and his allies just ignited a firestorm with the grassroots.'

Corey Stewart, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for US Senate in Virginia in 2018, who had come to Alabama to campaign for Moore’s, said: 'The Republican establishment got exactly what it wanted. It wanted to defeat a pro-Trump candidate like Judge Moore.'"^[148]

Turnout and demographics

Matthew Dowd, ABC News

"The GOP did not have a turnout problem in Alabama or Virginia. In fact, in normal election year turnouts (like in midterms), enough GOP voters turned out to carry Roy Moore and Ed Gillespie to victory. In 2014, if Roy Moore had gotten the 650,000 votes he got Tuesday night in a race for governor he would have beaten the Democratic candidate overwhelmingly. (The Democrat in 2014 got approximately 427,000 votes). The problem for Moore was that Democrats and independents were much more enthusiastic to vote (especially anti-Trump voters) and they turned out in record numbers. This same thing happened in Virginia, so we are seeing a pattern here. Normal GOP turnout, but huge turnout increases for the Democrats running."^[149]

Sean Sullivan and David Wiegel, The Washington Post

"Democrats held up Jones as a model for success in the midterm elections. And Jones said he wanted to change Alabama's laws to make it easier to vote, a move long championed by Democrats in the face of restrictive measures Republicans have pushed.

Even as Jones cozied up to Republican figures, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez, said the way Jones won 'is exactly the way Democrats can win everywhere.'

Perez said the DNC spent about $1 million to help Jones below the radar. The money went toward turning out African-Americans and millennials, he said.

Exit poll data showed that strong turnout from black voters was a major factor in Jones's victory. He said at his news conference Wednesday that he would like to see Alabama ease its voter laws, which are among the strictest in the nation and which critics argue disproportionately hurt African-Americans.^[150]

Katie Glueck, McClatchy Washington Bureau

"The results in Alabama also offer warnings about the enthusiasm and energy of Democratic-leaning African American voters, and about the willingness of moderate Republicans to rebuke Trump’s party.

Asked whether the results should be viewed as a wake-up call, Mississippi-based GOP strategist Austin Barbour replied, 'Hell yes.'

'Yes, it’s a wake-up call,' he said. 'It’s a reminder that we have to nominate and elect real conservatives who can win general elections and can govern like conservatives.'"^[143]

Daniel Burke, CNN

"But Moore lost in large part because another group of 'values voters'—African-American women—voted overwhelmingly for his opponent, Doug Jones. A whopping 98% of black women voters cast their ballots for Jones, giving the Democrat a huge boost, exit polls show.

Black women, and men for that matter, aren't usually categorized as 'values voters' in the media, which usually reserve that term for conservative white Christians. But perhaps it's well past time for that to change."^[151]

Molly Ball, TIME

"Jones’ win was powered by a surge of Democratic turnout and a steep dropoff in Republican turnout. Almost as many Alabamans voted for him in an irregularly scheduled midwinter special election as voted for Hillary Clinton last year — but Moore got less than half as many votes as Trump had. If that kind of turnout imbalance holds, Republicans 'aren’t facing a 2018 wave, they’re facing a tsunami,' said Michael McDonald, a voter-turnout expert at the University of Florida."^[152]

Ronald Brownstein, The Atlantic

"Jones beat Moore with strong turnout and a crushing lead among African Americans; a decisive advantage among younger voters; and major gains among college-educated and suburban whites, especially women. That allowed Jones to overcome big margins for Moore among the key elements of Trump’s coalition: older, blue-collar, evangelical, and non-urban white voters.

This was the same equation that powered the Democratic victories in the Virginia and New Jersey governors’ races. The consistency of these results suggests Democrats are coalescing a powerful coalition of the very voters that polls have shown are the most disenchanted, even disgusted, by Trump’s performance and behavior as president."^[153]

German Lopez, Vox

"There is also data that suggests Jones simply got much more of his base out to the polls than Moore did. Jones got about 92 percent of the raw vote total that Hillary Clinton did in 2016 in Alabama’s general election, while Moore got about 49 percent of the raw vote total that Donald Trump did in the state."^[154]

Jeff Poor, Breitbart

"In the days leading up to Tuesday’s special election, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill predicted turnout to be in the 20s. He initially said 20 percent, then revised it upward to 25 percent.

In the end, turnout came in at 40 percent, which is unheard of for an off-cycle special election in the month of December in Alabama.

High turnout marginalized Moore’s loyal base, which had been instrumental for Moore in the primary and the runoff."^[155]

The Trump effect and Republican policy agenda

Matthew Dowd, ABC News

"The biggest determinant of the election results and turnout in Alabama was not the views of Roy Moore, or the sexual allegations that surfaced and he denied, or the perception of either major party (which voters both don’t like), but the views of Donald Trump.

In 2016 Trump carried deep red Alabama by about 28 points, but on Tuesday exit polls showed 48 percent of voters disapproved of him and 47 percent approved of him (a Gallup poll done last week shows nationally 36% approval, 59 percent disapproval). And digging deeper in Alabama, 40 percent of voters strongly disapproved of the president, while 33 percent strongly approved. While the president’s numbers were worse in Virginia and New Jersey, the biggest determinant of those results were perceptions of him as well."^[149]

Sarah Kendzior, The Globe and Mail

"What the Alabama race demonstrates to Democrats is that attempting to pry away white Trump voters is a bad strategy, both morally and politically. The priority of any representative should be protecting the rights of the most vulnerable – particularly their right to vote, without which all other rights are threatened. The job of an elected official is to serve the entire body politic, something Mr. Moore showed no desire to do. He sought instead to punish certain Alabamians for their mere existence – for things no one can change, such as race or sexual orientation, or for having progressive beliefs to which they are legally entitled. Like the President, Mr. Moore ran on the politics of subjugation, and those who voted for him could do so only because they knew they would not be among the subjugated."^[156]

Matthew Yglesias, Vox

"The easy thing for Republicans to tell themselves after the stinging loss of a Senate seat in Alabama is that they only went down to defeat because the party had the misfortune to nominate someone accused of preying on teenage girls.

And there is something to that. But the Republican Party nominated a man accused of sexual misconduct to run for president in 2016, and that didn’t stop him from winning 62 percent of the vote in Alabama. Donald Trump didn’t just win Alabama a year ago — he won by a larger margin than Mitt Romney, John McCain, or George W. Bush. So while it’s undoubtedly true that the allegations played a role in the race, they hardly work as a comprehensive explanation of the outcome.

The larger issue is that the Republican Party is led by an unpopular president and unpopular congressional leaders who are pursuing an unpopular agenda, and it’s putting them in massive electoral peril."^[157]

Brendan Kirby of LifeZette

"Former Alabama Republican Party Chairman Marty Connors, appearing on 'The Ingraham Angle' as Tuesday's votes were counted, attributed Moore's loss to inaction by a Republican-controlled Congress.

'If you go to any watering hole in suburban Alabama or rural Alabama, everybody is very, very angry at Washington and they are blaming Republicans, which is the rise of Roy Moore in this race,' he said. 'Had tax reform had been passed two or three months ago, this would not have been an issue. If Obamacare had been repealed, this would not have been an issue.'

Exit polls suggested, however, that the allegations had only served to harden the positions on both sides. Six in 10 voters said they already had made up their mind before The Post published its first story. Some 86 percent of Moore voters said they did not believe the allegations, while 89 percent of Jones voters did."^[158]

Crossover appeal

Molly Ball, TIME

"Jones’s victory was also the story of a skilled, well-financed campaign powered by a dogged candidate who became a national cause célèbre for the left. The campaign and its allies focused on voter mobilization and turnout. While Moore virtually disappeared — perhaps fearing confrontation with the press, or believing that God’s will does not depend on get-out-the-vote programs — Jones’s campaign boasted it had logged millions of contacts with voters. The upscale, Republican-leaning suburbs where he drew crucial crossover votes were blanketed in Jones signs. His approach could be a road map for other Democrats to make gains in hostile territory."^[152]

Moore's loss was a win for Republicans

Katie Glueck of McClatchy Washington Bureau

"Headed into Tuesday, Republican strategists were terrified that that embrace of Moore by key elements of the party apparatus would make it even easier for Democrats to tar GOP candidates with the 'war on women' moniker they have been pushing for years.

The concern was especially acute for House candidates running in moderate suburban districts across the country, from Orange County, Calif. to the collar counties outside of Philadelphia, where there is potential for deepening anti-Republican backlash, following emerging signs of such a phenomenon in the Virginia governor’s race and statehouse races there last month.

'The outcome is going to make it much more difficult to legislate, but I think we dodged a scarlet letter for the 2018 elections,' said one California GOP consultant. 'While I expect Roy Moore will still be a minor issue, he will be nowhere near the issue he’d be if he was lurking on the Senate floor as a Republican in 2018.'"^[143]

Jon Street, RedState

"In this particular race, the Republican candidate Roy Moore is far from your typical Republican. Even before the most recent allegations against him of child molestation and sexual abuse, he voiced support for banning Muslims from serving in Congress, said that homosexual activity should be illegal, and floated the conspiracy theory that former President Obama was born in Kenya.

Moore’s opponent, meanwhile, was a relatively moderate Democrat on most issues — save his extremely progressive stance on abortion. Democrats can portray this race as a victory for Democrats if they want. I’m sure they will. But make no mistake, tonight was a win just as much for Republicans as for Democrats in the sense that Alabama affirmed it is more aligned with the political center than the extreme right.

In case the Republican Party needed any more indication that Trumpism is not a winning strategy in red states like Alabama, much less swing states like Virginia, Alabama showed the world Tuesday night that the purview of human decency still transcends the politics of tribalism."^[159]

Reactions from elected officials

The following reactions from elected and party officials were compiled from tweets and statements released following the election results on December 12, 2017.

Democrats

• Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio): "I am grateful to the women who had the courage to come forward. Because of them and so many others like them, we are seeing meaningful change. I look forward to finding opportunities to work with Doug Jones in the Senate to support middle-class families."^[160]

• Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.): "Hot DAMN."^[160]

• Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.): "Congratulations to my friend @GDouglasJones. He'll be a great colleague. President Trump went all in for Roy Moore, but proud Alabamians wisely repudiated their behavior."^[160]

• Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.): "Thank you Alabama!"^[160]

• Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez: "“Doug Jones made history tonight. He won because his values are the values of the American people.

This election wasn’t about right versus left, it was about right versus wrong. The people of Alabama sent a loud and clear message to Donald Trump and the Republican Party: you can’t call yourself the party of family values as long as you’re willing to accept vile men like Roy Moore as members."^[161]

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): "Congratulations to @GDouglasJones for his great victory. Congratulations to the people of Alabama for doing what few thought they would do. This is a victory not just for Jones and Democrats. It is a victory for justice and decency."^[160]

• Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.):"Doug Jones will be an outstanding Senator who will represent Alabama well. He was a great candidate and will be an even better Senator."^[160]

Republicans

• President Donald Trump (R): Trump congratulated Jones for his victory in a tweet on December 12, 2017. Later that night, Trump tweeted that he had predicted Moore would lose the general election. "The reason I originally endorsed Luther Strange (and his numbers went up mightily), is that I said Roy Moore will not be able to win the General Election. I was right! Roy worked hard but the deck was stacked against him!" Trump wrote.^[162]

• Sen. Steven Daines (R-Mont.): Daines tweeted, "@lutherstrange would have won this race in a landslide. It was an honor to have served with you, Luther. You are a class act."^[160]

• Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.): "Tonight's results are clear—the people of Alabama deemed Roy Moore unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate. I hope Senator-elect Doug Jones will do the right thing and truly represent Alabama by choosing to vote with the Senate Republican Majority."^[163]

• Rep. Ed Henry (R-Ala.): "Truly a sad day in Alabama. This is the result of Republican voter suppression. Way to go Richard Shelby👍 you led 20,000 Republican voters away from a Republican Senator and the Trump agenda."^[164]

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): "When it comes to Alabama politics Steve Bannon should have followed President @realDonaldTrump lead in supporting Luther Strange. Trump’s instincts on the Alabama race proved to be correct."^[165]

• Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.): "Decency wins."^[160]

• Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio): "Thankfully, today enough Republicans chose country over party. Tomorrow we must redouble our efforts to support candidates worthy of the office they seek. #TwoPaths"^[166]

Political analysis of Republican primary runoff election outcome

After the election, members of Congress, party activists, and journalists examined the political strategies and external factors leading to Moore's victory over Strange. Frequently mentioned explanations for the election outcome included lingering questions about Strange's appointment by Bentley, dissatisfaction with establishment Republicans, and Alabamian political culture.

Candidate issues

• Michael Barone of Washington Examiner: "Roy Moore had an unusual advantage for a challenger and Luther Strange had some unusual disadvantages for an incumbent. Moore has a long history of controversial involvement in Alabama politics, including his elections and ousters as chief justice of the state's Supreme Court. Few other insurgent candidates are likely to be so well known. Strange became a senator when he was appointed to fill Jeff Sessions' vacancy by Gov. Robert Bentley, who soon resigned himself due to a personal scandal. Few other 'establishment' candidates are likely to have such baggage."^[167]

• Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns of The New York Times: "Mr. Strange’s demise was in some respects as much a local phenomenon as a national one, stemming from his appointment this year by then-Gov. Robert Bentley to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Mr. Strange, the state’s attorney general at the time, was overseeing an investigation into Mr. Bentley’s personal relationship with a close aide, suggesting to many in a scandal-weary state that there may have been a corrupt bargain. The newly appointed senator denied any wrongdoing, but never fully confronted the issue in a way that would eliminate the lingering cloud over the appointment. And by Monday, an adviser to Mr. McConnell, anticipating defeat, started to privately make the case that it was Mr. Bentley’s scandal and the circumstances around the appointment that was most to blame for Mr. Strange’s lackluster support."^[168]

The Trump effect

• Michael Barone of Washington Examiner: "Trump's endorsement of Strange did not carry all before it. And his appearance for Strange at a Friday night event in Huntsville was not maximally effective. The big news coming out of it was his negative commentary on the National Football League. Could a more disciplined Trump endorsement have produced the 6 points Strange turned out to need for a victory? Maybe."^[167]

• Alex Seitz-Wald of NBC News: "Strange showcased Trump's backing as the central pillar of his campaign in its closing days, invoking it repeatedly in the race's only debate last week his TV ads. Muddying the waters was the fact that many of Trump's own former aides and surrogates — including one of his Cabinet secretaries, Ben Carson at HUD — lined up against him to support Moore. Former chief strategist Steve Bannon turned Breitbart News, the outlet he runs, into a nonstop anti-Strange attack machine, and used an election eve rally to warn the GOP establishment, 'Your day of reckoning is coming.'"^[169]

• Whit Ayres, Republican pollster: "You can’t just transfer the popularity of your brand to another candidate. ... No other Republican Senate incumbent will carry that baggage [the Bentley appointment]."^[170]

• Jonathan Bernstein of Bloomberg: "Trump's utter inability to move the polls despite being very visible in his support for Strange will remove some, and perhaps quite a bit, of the belief among Republican elites that Trump has some sort of special connection with their constituents. Indeed, Moore won by a larger margin in the runoff than he did in the first-round election. Which means they'll be less likely to give him the benefit of the doubt when deciding whether to do what he wants."^[171]

Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Congress

• James Hohmann of The Washington Post: "Mitch McConnell was yesterday’s biggest loser. His last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare before the end of the month failed. Corker has been one of his most reliable allies. And outside groups tied to the Kentucky senator just spent about $10 million trying to beat Moore. The judge is openly antagonistic of McConnell’s leadership and, assuming he wins the general election, will undoubtedly become a pain in his caucus."^[172]

• Bill Barrow and Kim Chandler of The Associated Press: "Roy Moore’s 9-point victory over Sen. Luther Strange, backed by the White House and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, ranks as a miscalculation and temporary embarrassment for the president; it’s a more consequential rebuke for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who Moore said should step aside as GOP floor chief."^[173]

• Jonathan Bernstein of Bloomberg: "The most likely outcome is still that Moore wins, and Republicans retain their majority, perhaps a bit smaller or even a bit larger. But as unwieldy as their slim majority was to handle this year, it's apt to get worse with Moore—who ran by bashing Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—taking a seat. Corker's replacement will probably be less inclined to cut deals and compromise, too. And the primary result in Alabama will likely encourage other primary challenges to Republican incumbents at all levels. At the worst, for Republicans, they'll lose a handful of elections as a result of fringe candidates defeating easy winners and then losing to Democrats. But even if that doesn't happen, it's going to make governing more difficult for Republicans."^[171]

• Ben Jacobs of The Guardian: "With Bannonite populists already targeting Republican incumbents in Senate seats in Nevada, Arizona and Mississippi, the question is: did these unique local factors dominate the race, or can Republican primaries now be successfully nationalized in opposition to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell? One Bannon ally joked to the Guardian on Tuesday night that 'Mitch McConnell in a Republican primary is now what Nancy Pelosi is in general elections for Democrats'. However, those races will be held under far different circumstances. Turnout is likely to be higher in an election-year primary and against incumbents who have actually won their Senate seat – unlike Strange. Further, it is rare that any candidate, let alone a primary challenger, has the level of name recognition that Moore has in Alabama."^[174]

• Noel Fritsch, Republican campaign operative: "This was a referendum, straight up, on Mitch McConnell. We ran a campaign largely against Mitch McConnell. We said Mitch’s name more than we said Luther’s."^[175]

Political reaction to Republican primary runoff election outcome

Democrats

• Former U.S. attorney Doug Jones: "I think we're going to win this race. I've always thought that—whether it was against Roy Moore or Luther Strange. We have the wind at our back. We believe we have the issues people care about which you have not heard any discussions about. People are concerned about health care and the economy. People want to see this state moving forward. I believe that we can do that."^[176]

• The New York Times reported, "Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, argued Moore's history creates 'a path to victory' even in 'tough territory' where statewide Democratic nominees often fail to reach 40 percent in a general election. ... The Democratic National Committee also pounced on Moore as 'the divisive candidate,' and the national party already has sent fundraising emails to donors soliciting contributions that would be split between the DNC and the Jones campaign. Van Hollen said he will defer to Jones on what other national help to offer."^[177]

• Tom Perez, Democratic National Committee chair: “I’ve never seen a clearer contrast between candidates Roy Moore is unfit to serve; all you have to do is ask Mitch McConnell about that. Moderate Republicans are just as offended as Democrats that Roy Moore might wind up in the Senate."^[178]

• Former Rep. Artur Davis (Ala.): "The early polling for Doug sounds good, but in the two or three polls I have seen, he is still stuck at the 38-40 percent Democratic base, no higher. To pull the 20 percent of Republicans he needs, he is going to have to make this a race about common-sense ideas, working with both sides, and avoid the temptation to portray this race as a clash of dark and light. That will backfire here quicker than Roy can say Jesus.”^[178]

Republicans

• President Donald Trump: "Congratulations to Roy Moore on his Republican Primary win in Alabama. Luther Strange started way back & ran a good race. Roy, WIN in Dec!"^[179] Following Moore's win, Trump also deleted three tweets calling on Alabama voters to vote for Strange in the primary runoff.^[180]
• Vice President Mike Pence: "Congratulations Roy Moore! We are thrilled you ran on the #MAGA agenda & we are for you!"^[181]
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.): "He ran a spirited campaign centered around a dissatisfaction with the progress made in Washington. I share that frustration and believe that enacting the agenda the American people voted for last November requires us all to work together."^[182]
• Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.): "We’re dealing with a political environment that I’ve never had any experience with. The political seas, the political winds in this country right now are very hard to navigate. They’re very hard to understand. ... If this causes [Trump] any trouble, it’s not his fault."^[183]
• Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon: "Who’s sovereign, the people or the money? Alabama answered today: the people."^[184]
• Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.): "Every Republican senator had better get prepared for a challenge from the far right."^[185]
• Alabama state legislator Barry Moore: “I think incumbents are extremely vulnerable. The American people are sending a message that there’s nothing getting done in D.C., and we’re going to have to replace a lot of those people."^[185]

Special elections to the 115th U.S. Congress

See also: Special elections to the 115th United States Congress (2017-2018)

In the 17 special elections called to fill vacancies in the 115th Congress in 2017 and 2018, nine Republicans and eight Democrats won. Four elections resulted in a partisan flip:

• Doug Jones (D), U.S. Senate in Alabama;
• Conor Lamb (D), Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District;
• Mary Gay Scanlon (D), Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District; and
• Susan Wild (D), Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District.

Results of special elections to the 115th Congress
Race	Election date	Incumbent	Winner	Election MOV	Previous election MOV	2016 Presidential election MOV[186]
Kansas' 4th Congressional District	April 11, 2017	Mike Pompeo	Ron Estes	R+6	R+31	R+27
Montana's At-Large Congressional District	May 25, 2017	Ryan Zinke	Greg Gianforte	R+6	R+15	R+21
California's 34th Congressional District	June 6, 2017	Xavier Becerra	Jimmy Gomez	D+18[187]	D+54[187]	D+73
Georgia's 6th Congressional District	June 20, 2017	Tom Price	Karen Handel	R+4	R+24	R+1
South Carolina's 5th Congressional District	June 20, 2017	Mick Mulvaney	Ralph Norman	R+3	R+20	R+18
Utah's 3rd Congressional District	November 7, 2017	Jason Chaffetz	John Curtis	R+32	R+47	R+24
U.S. Senate in Alabama	December 12, 2017	Jeff Sessions	Doug Jones	D+2	R+28	R+28
Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District	March 13, 2018	Tim Murphy	Conor Lamb	D+0[188]	R+100	R+19
Arizona's 8th Congressional District	April 24, 2018	Trent Franks	Debbie Lesko	R+6	R+38	R+21
Texas' 27th Congressional District	June 30, 2018	Blake Farenthold	Michael Cloud	R+23	R+24	R+23
Ohio's 12th Congressional District	August 7, 2018	Patrick Tiberi	Troy Balderson	R+1	R+40	R+11
Michigan's 13th Congressional District	November 6, 2018	John Conyers Jr.	Brenda Jones	D+78	D+61	D+61
U.S. Senate in Minnesota	November 6, 2018	Al Franken	Tina Smith	D+11	D+10	D+2
U.S. Senate in Mississippi	November 6, 2018	Thad Cochran	Cindy Hyde-Smith	R+8	R+22	R+18
New York's 25th Congressional District	November 6, 2018	Louise Slaughter	Joseph Morelle	D+16	D+12	D+16
Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District	November 6, 2018	Patrick Meehan	Mary Gay Scanlon	D+6	R+19	D+2
Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District	November 6, 2018	Charlie Dent	Susan Wild	D+0	R+20	R+8

State overview

Alabama has been represented by a Republican continuously since 1997 when Howell Heflin (D), who was first elected to office in 1976, retired. The last elected official to hold the seat was Jeff Sessions (R), who vacated the office after he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as attorney general on February 8, 2017. Luther Strange was appointed to fill the vacancy.

Demographics

In 2016, the district had a population of approximately 4,860,000 people, with its three most populous cities being Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile.^[189][190]

The state has a median household income of $43,623, which is roughly 20 percent lower than the national average: $53,889. It also has a greater rate of individuals in poverty compared to the national average: 18.5 percent to 13.5 percent.^[189]

History of U.S. Senate elections in Alabama (1986-2016)

Victory margins

The chart below displays the margins of victory between the Democratic and Republican nominees in each Alabama Senate general election from 1986 to 2016.

In the tables below you may view election results from every United States Senate election in Alabama dating back to 1986.

2016

See also: United States Senate election in Alabama, 2016

General election

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	64%	1,335,104
	Democratic	Ron Crumpton	35.9%	748,709
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	3,631
Total Votes				2,087,444
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ron Crumpton	56.1%	153,897
Charles Nana	43.9%	120,526
Total Votes		274,423
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Richard Shelby Incumbent	64.9%	505,586
Jonathan McConnell	27.6%	214,770
John Martin	3%	23,558
Marcus Bowman	2.5%	19,707
Shadrack McGill	2%	15,230
Total Votes		778,851
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

2014

See also: United States Senate elections in Alabama, 2014

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	97.3%	795,606
	N/A	Write-in	2.7%	22,484
Total Votes				818,090
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

2010

General election

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	65.2%	968,181
	Democratic	William G. Barnes	34.7%	515,619
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,699
Total Votes				1,485,499
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	William G. Barnes	60.8%	160,993
	Democratic	Simone D. De Moore	39.2%	103,942
Total Votes				264,935
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	84.4%	405,398
	Republican	N.C. Moser	15.6%	75,190
Total Votes				480,588
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

2008

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	63.4%	1,305,383
	Democratic	Vivian Figures	36.5%	752,391
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	2,417
Total Votes				2,060,191
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Vivian Figures	63.7%	112,074
	Democratic	Johnny Swanson III	22%	38,757
	Democratic	Mark Townsend	14.2%	25,058
Total Votes				175,889
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	92.3%	199,690
	Republican	Earl Mack Gavin	7.7%	16,718
Total Votes				216,408
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

2004

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	67.5%	1,242,200
	Democratic	Wayne Sowell	32.4%	595,018
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,848
Total Votes				1,839,066
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic and Republican primaries

Both Richard Shelby and Wayne Sowell were unopposed on their respective party's primary ballots.^[191]

2002

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions (Incumbent)	58.6%	792,561
	Democratic	Susan Parker	39.8%	538,878
	Libertarian	Jeff Allen	1.5%	20,234
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,350
Total Votes				1,353,023
Source: U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Election Statistics," accessed August 28, 2017

Democratic runoff

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Runoff Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Susan Parker	65.1%	176,582
	Democratic	Julian McPhillips	34.9%	94,614
Total Votes				271,196
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Susan Parker	48%	190,978
	Democratic	Julian McPhillips	42.8%	170,222
	Democratic	Wayne Sowell	9.2%	36,719
Total Votes				397,919
Source: Federal Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 29, 2017

Republican primary

Jeff Sessions was the only Republican to file for this race.^[191]

1998

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Richard Shelby (Incumbent)	63.2%	817,973
	Democratic	Clayton Suddith	36.7%	474,568
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	864
Total Votes				1,293,405

Primaries

No Democratic or Republican primary was necessary because Shelby and Suddith were the only two candidates who filed to run in the race.^[191]

1996

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	52.8%	786,436
	Democratic	Roger Beford	45.7%	681,651
	Libertarian	Mark Thornton	1.4%	21,550
	N/A	Write-in	0%	633
Total Votes				1,490,270

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Roger Bedford	44.8%	141,360
	Democratic	Glenn Browder	28.9%	91,203
	Democratic	Natalie Davis	22.7%	71,588
	Democratic	Marilyn Quarles Bromberg	3.7%	11,573
Total Votes				315,724

Republican runoff

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Runoff Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	59.3%	81,622
	Republican	Sid McDonald	40.7%	56,131
Total Votes				137,753

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeff Sessions	37.5%	80,694
	Republican	Sid McDonald	22%	47,200
	Republican	Charles Woods	11.1%	23,793
	Republican	Frank McRight	10.2%	21,818
	Republican	Walter D. Clark	8.6%	18,513
	Republican	Jimmy Blake	7.1%	15,305
	Republican	Albert Lipscomb	3.5%	7,600
Total Votes				214,923

1992

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1992
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard Shelby	64.8%	1,022,698
	Republican	Richard Sellers	33.1%	522,015
	Libertarian	Jerome Shockley	2%	31,811
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	1,275
Total Votes				1,577,799

Democratic and Republican primaries

No primaries for either party were held due to lack of opposition.^[191]

1990

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1990
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Howell Heflin	60.6%	717,814
	Republican	William J. Cabaniss	39.4%	467,190
	N/A	Write-in	0%	150
Total Votes				1,185,154

Democratic and Republican primaries

No primaries for either party were held due to lack of opposition.^[191]

1986

General results

U.S. Senate, Alabama General Election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard Shelby	50.3%	609,360
	Republican	Jeremiah Denton (Incumbent)	49.7%	602,537
Total Votes				1,211,897

Democratic primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Democratic Primary Election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Richard Shelby	51.3%	420,155
	Democratic	Jim Allen, Jr.	34.7%	284,206
	Democratic	Ted McLaughlin	8.6%	70,784
	Democratic	Margaret E. Stewart	3.3%	26,723
	Democratic	Steve Arnold	2%	16,722
Total Votes				818,590

Republican primary

U.S. Senate, Alabama Republican Primary Election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jeremiah Denton (Incumbent)	88.5%	29,805
	Republican	Richard Vickers	11.5%	3,854
Total Votes				33,659

See also

• Special elections to the 115th United States Congress (2017-2018)
• Timeline of United States Senate special election in Alabama, 2017
• United States Senate
• Jeff Sessions

External links

Footnotes