Joe Biden

What to Know About Alabama Democrat Doug Jones

Jones' projected win makes him the first Democratic senator to represent Alabama in two decades

Democrat Doug Jones was the projected winner of the U.S. Senate in Alabama on Tuesday, beating back history in a race that was transformed by allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Republican candidate Roy Moore in this deeply conservative state.

Although President Donald Trump eventually stuck by Moore, and some experts continued to bet that he would pull out a victory over Jones, pollsters were saying the race was impossible to predict by election day.

Jones' projected win will make him the first Democratic senator to represent Alabama in two decades. Jones campaigned heavily at the end and brought in prominent African-American supporters to draw out the black vote.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick appeared on his behalf. Former President Barack Obama recorded a phone message in Jones' support that the campaign began using on Tuesday.  

Moore meanwhile made few appearances in the last week until a rally Monday with Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon.

Last-minute cash contributions to both candidates were being made by outside political groups, and both were using legal loopholes to hide their donors until after the election, according to NBC News. At the end of November, Jones was outspending Moore by nearly 10 to one.

Some Republicans continued to call for Moore to step down as they scrambled to find a write-in candidate to replace him. Alabama's senior senator, Republican Richard Shelby, said he could not vote for Moore.

"We applaud the courage of these women,” Jones said of the allegations against his opponent in a statement earlier. "Roy Moore will be held accountable by the people of Alabama for his actions."

Moore has called the claims against him "absolutely false."

Jones has said that his campaign strategy did not change in light of the allegations because the issues are still the same.

"Our campaign has been about the people of this state," he told reporters. "It’s never been about me. It’s not about Roy Moore. It hasn’t been about any other candidate. It’s about the people of this state and what they consider to be their important, kitchen table issues."

Jones, 63, has never run for public office. Born into a working class Alabama family of steelworkers and miners, he attended Fairfield High School during the time of Alabama's public school desegregation and went on to study government and law.

Here are the other things to know about the Democratic Senator.

He was named U.S. Attorney by Bill Clinton
After law school, Jones worked as staff counsel to the U.S Senate Judiciary Committee and then as assistant U.S. attorney in Birmingham.

Jones was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama by former President Bill Clinton in 1997 and he was confirmed by a Republican-majority Senate. He held the position for four years before returning to private law practice.

He has prosecuted Ku Klux Klan members and other extremists
In his time as U.S. attorney, Jones won a conviction in 2002 for former KKK member Bobby Frank Cherry, who murdered four African-American girls in a 1963 Alabama church bombing. The bombing was a turning point in the civil rights movement.

Jones previously convicted another former Klansman, Thomas Blanton, whose case was dormant for nearly 25 years, for his role in the bombing.

He also spearheaded the prosecution against Eric Rudolph, who bombed a women’s health care center in Birmingham in 1998.

According to Jones’s campaign website, civil rights issues are a priority in his campaign.

"Sadly, the pattern of violence as a response to hope has reasserted itself," Jones wrote in a September op-ed in Huffington Post. "We saw it in the Charleston church massacre in 2015. We saw it on display in Charlottesville this past August. We've seen it in the attacks on mosques and synagogues, and against the LGBT community. We see it in the hostility toward the Latino community. We cannot sweep this violence under the rug. We must address the forces that lead to it and prosecute those who perpetrate such acts.”

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute awarded Jones the 15th Anniversary Civil Rights Distinguished Service Award for his work in civil rights, according to the Public Justice Center, a legal aid office that advocates for racial equality.

Former Vice President Joe Biden campaigned for him
Last month, before the sexual assault and misconduct claims against Roy Moore came to light, the former vice president traveled to Alabama to campaign for Jones.

"I can count on two hands the people I've campaigned for that have as much integrity, as much courage," Biden said of Jones, Business Insider reported.

He also said that Jones’ prosecution of the KKK members “helped remove 40 years of stain and pain” from the state of Alabama.

Former vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine also expressed his support for Jones, asking for donations to the campaign in a recent tweet.  

"When you have a person who speaks to a very unique need for healing in the country right now and is facing off against a guy who will not heal our divisions but will fan them, it’s a good race to be helpful in," Kaine told The New York Times.

On the eve of the election, former NBA star and Alabama native Charles Barkley campaigned with Jones. 

"I love Alabama, but at some point we've got to draw a line in the sand and say, 'We're not a bunch of damn idiots,'" Barkley said.

The grandson of a coal miner, Jones supports the Paris climate accord
"I want to be perfectly clear: I believe in science," Jones wrote on his website.

He said he supports the Paris climate agreement and that the impact of fossil fuel use on the planet is clear.

But as the son of a steelworker and the grandson of a coal miner, Jones has "enormous sympathy with the families in our state that have seen their incomes decline or their jobs vanish as coal prices have dropped," he said, adding that America needs to step up its job retraining and health care for these workers.

He opposes efforts to repeal "Obamacare"
Jones said on his website that while the Affordable Care Act "needs improvement," he is "disturbed about repeated efforts to repeal the bill or weaken it, leaving as many as 32 million more Americans without insurance, driving up rates for others and likely leading to the closure of more rural health care facilities vital in many regions of Alabama."

Jones has said he wants to lower health care premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

He has also called for more funding for education, saying “it is unconscionable to talk about lowering taxes on the wealthy while cutting funding for education, nutrition, child care, housing, and infrastructure.”

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