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Who is Doug Jones, and can he defeat Roy Moore in conservative Alabama?
Source: Washington Post
Who is Doug Jones, and can he defeat Roy Moore in conservative Alabama?
By David Weigel September 27 at 11:20 AM
The victory of former judge Roy Moore in Alabama’s Republican Senate primary gives Democrats a choice — whether to actually compete for the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Democrats who have not seriously contested an Alabama Senate race since 1996 think they have a credible candidate in Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney who successfully prosecuted members of the Ku Klux Klan who bombed a black church in Birmingham in 1963, killing four girls. Several progressive groups believe they have a clearer shot at winning the general election in December than they would have if Sen. Luther Strange, the establishment candidate who lost resoundingly to Moore on Tuesday, had won.
Clearer, but not necessarily easy.
After a string of high-profile defeats in special House elections, two of them in the Deep South, Democrats are approaching the Jones campaign carefully. The 63-year old attorney, who has never before run for office, has raised less than $300,000 despite securing his nomination a month ago. Moore, who was outspent by Strange, raised more than $1.4 million. Alabama, which gave a 28-point landslide victory to President Trump last year, has not elected any Democrat to statewide office this decade.
Jones, in an interview conducted before Moore secured his win, said he had a unique opportunity to break Democrats out of their rut. He would offer “political checks and balances” on the Trump administration, reach out to independents and provide a sober contrast with firebrand Moore.
-snip-
By David Weigel September 27 at 11:20 AM
The victory of former judge Roy Moore in Alabama’s Republican Senate primary gives Democrats a choice — whether to actually compete for the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Democrats who have not seriously contested an Alabama Senate race since 1996 think they have a credible candidate in Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney who successfully prosecuted members of the Ku Klux Klan who bombed a black church in Birmingham in 1963, killing four girls. Several progressive groups believe they have a clearer shot at winning the general election in December than they would have if Sen. Luther Strange, the establishment candidate who lost resoundingly to Moore on Tuesday, had won.
Clearer, but not necessarily easy.
After a string of high-profile defeats in special House elections, two of them in the Deep South, Democrats are approaching the Jones campaign carefully. The 63-year old attorney, who has never before run for office, has raised less than $300,000 despite securing his nomination a month ago. Moore, who was outspent by Strange, raised more than $1.4 million. Alabama, which gave a 28-point landslide victory to President Trump last year, has not elected any Democrat to statewide office this decade.
Jones, in an interview conducted before Moore secured his win, said he had a unique opportunity to break Democrats out of their rut. He would offer “political checks and balances” on the Trump administration, reach out to independents and provide a sober contrast with firebrand Moore.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/who-is-doug-jones-and-can-he-defeat-roy-moore-in-conservative-alabama/2017/09/27/c89e2df2-a2fb-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html
2 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Red counties went for Roy Moore yesterday.
Not even the state capital county went for Strange. Trump's support may have been a curse.
