BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —Polls have closed across Alabama, where a strikingly close election to fill a Senate seat pitted a scandal-damaged Republican against a Democratic ex-prosecutor.
As the first returns came in, the race between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones remained too close to call.
The outcome of the election could reshape the U.S. Senate — where Republicans hold a slim 52-to-48 majority, and are still struggling to pass a massive bill to rewrite the U.S. tax code.
Beyond that, the result of Tuesday’s race could serve as a bellwether for U.S. politics in 2018.
[Alabama Senate race live results]
What it would take for a Democrat to win Alabama
A Moore victory — despite reports that he pursued romantic relationships with teenage girls while in his mid-30s — would give a powerful boost to President Trump as well as his former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon. Trump and Bannon continued to back Moore after the allegations arose, despite concerns from mainstream Republicans in Washington and across the country. Bannon could gain new momentum to challenge other established Republicans in primaries next year.
If Jones overcomes Alabama’s deep-red politics, his victory would boost Democratic hopes of holding more sway over legislation in Washington — and of sweeping victories in next year’s midterms. While this year has already brought some victories for Democrats — especially the statewide races in Virginia, where the anti-Trump vote had strong sway — none of them were surprises on the scale of a Democratic victory in Alabama.
Jones, 63, is a former U.S. attorney best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klan members for the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham Baptist church, which killed four girls. The bombers were not tried until the 1990s.
Moore is a former state chief justice, who has become known for his hard-right stances on same-sex marriage and his belief that “God’s law” trumps the U.S. Constitution. In the Republican primary for this seat, Moore defeated Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), who was appointed to fill this seat after it was vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. in the Republican primary.
Early exit polls — which can be wrong — have shown some encouraging signs for Jones, the Democrat.
Jones, for instance, needed strong turnout from African American voters; in early exit polls, it appeared that black turnout might be slightly higher than the levels in 2012 and 2008, when Barack Obama was on the ballot. African Americans made up 28 percent of the electorate in 2008, and 29 percent in 2012. In this election, they make up about 3 in 10 Alabama voters so far on Election Day according to preliminary exit polls.
By contrast, white evangelical voters seemed to make up a smaller percentage of the electorate this year than they had in past elections. That group made up just over 4 in 10 voters this year, compared with 47 percent of the state’s electorate in both 2012 and 2008 presidential elections, according to Alabama exit polls.
Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones voted early on Dec. 12, in Alabama’s special election. “We feel great,” he said after casting his ballot. (Reuters)
“They’re coming out,” said Kim Payton, a city councilwoman in the town of Hayneville, Ala. — meaning black voters. Hayneville is located in the state’s “black belt” — rural area named for its dark soils, which also has a strong contingent of African American voters.
One voter in Hayneville, 49 year-old masonry instructor, Robert Holcombe, said the allegations against Moore particularly bothered him. “We took Roy Moore to be a church man, an upright man,” Holcombe said. “I have an 18-year-old daughter. I know I wouldn’t want him messing with her at age 14.”
Other exit polls seemed to indicate that this electorate would be different than the one that came to the polls in November 2016. Trump, for instance, won Alabama with 62 percent of the vote in 2016. But preliminary exit polls Tuesday found that just under half of Alabamians approve of Trump’s performance, while about an identical share disapprove. About 4 in 10 voters say they “strongly disapprove” of Trump, compared with just over 3 in 10 who “strongly approve.”
Another hopeful sign for Jones: more Alabama voters identified as liberal in preliminary exit polls than they had in either the 2008 or 2012 presidential elections in the state. Almost a quarter of special election voters call themselves liberal, higher than 16 percent in presidential election exit polls in 2012 election and 12 percent in the 2008 election, the two most recent years where data are available.
But Moore still has history on his side. This is Alabama, which has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992, and which voted overwhelmingly for President Trump in 2016.
At Siluria Baptist Church in heavily Republican Alabaster, Ala., EMT Heather Barron, 27, said she fully supported the Republican.
“He has the same values that I do,” she said, adding that she hadn’t been convinced by the allegations that Moore had pursued teenage girls. “If all that was true, we would have heard about it a long time ago.”
Polls had shown Moore with a comfortable lead in this race until early November, when The Washington Post reported that Moore had pursued romantic relationships with teenagers years ago, when Moore himself was in his 30s. This brought further tumult to the race. Moore denied the allegations, but many Republican senators called for him to quit — and Alabama’s other senator, Richard C. Shelby (R), declared that the state deserved better.
Trump at first wavered in his support, but eventually gave his full backing to Moore.
A win by Jones would help bolster Democrats’ chances of regaining control of the Senate after next year’s contests.
If Moore wins, Republican leaders in Washington will face politically fraught decisions about how to treat him as a new member of the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would have to choose which, if any, committees Moore would be allowed to join. He would also have to decide whether to recommend that the Senate Select Committee on Ethics investigate Moore because of the allegations of misconduct with teenagers years before.
McConnell ducked questions Tuesday about whether he would seat Moore on committees if he wins. “All of those are good questions for tomorrow, and we await the outcome of the Alabama Senate race,” he told reporters.
The scene on Capitol Hill varied widely from the one in Gallant, Ala., the small town where Moore voted Tuesday after riding his horse to the polls in front of national and international media. Speaking to the assembled reporters, he urged voters to “go out and vote their conscience.”
“We have a tremendous turnout,” said Moore. “The state, the nation, is watching this.”
About 50 miles to the southwest in Mountain Brook, a traditionally Republican suburb of Birmingham, Jones expressed confidence in his chances.
“We feel great,” he said after casting his ballot. “I don’t think that Roy Moore’s going to win this election.”
The election has attracted more than $41 million in spending and a wave of interest from national political leaders and figures in popular culture. Former president Barack Obama and former vice president Joe Biden recorded robo-calls for Jones, while Trump recorded an appeal for Moore.
[Trump jumps into Alabama Senate race, but it’s all about Moore — on both sides]
The stakes are high for both parties, as the outcome is likely to lay the groundwork for the 2018 midterm races. A win in the Deep South for Democrats would be a rebuke to Trump and Bannon, and would also lend credibility to Democratic efforts to take control of the Senate next year.
Sessions, whose departure from the Senate prompted Tuesday’s election, said Tuesday that he voted but did not say it was for Moore.
“I voted absentee,” Sessions said in Baltimore, responding to a question from a reporter. “I value the sanctity of the ballot. The people of Alabama are good and decent. They’ll make right decision.”
If Jones wins, Senate leaders will face pressure from Democrats to seat him before final votes on the GOP tax bill. The Alabama secretary of state’s office said the election result could be certified with the Senate as early as Dec. 27 to 29.
But McConnell on Tuesday said Strange, who was appointed by the governor to temporarily fill Sessions’s seat, will remain in the Senate through the end of the current session.
“Once the state certifies and sends us the paperwork, the new Senator is sworn in. But since the state said they don’t expect to certify until the end of the month, and we expect to finish before the end of the month…” McConnell spokesman Don Stewart wrote in an email.
A win for Moore would boost Trump while weakening the hand of mainstream Republicans, who have struggled to broaden the party’s appeal heading into the midterms. McConnell and his deputies withdrew support for Moore in the wake of the misconduct allegations, but it is unclear whether their opposition will make a difference in the race.
Voting is scheduled to end at 7 p.m. Central time.
Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, said he was encouraged by the level of African American turnout he observed while voting in heavily Republican Limestone County. At the same time, he said he had received reports of issues with ballot scanners in Huntsville and Alexander City.
No major voting abnormalities had been reported to the secretary of state’s office as of midday, a spokesman said.
In Alabaster, Ala., a reliably Republican town south of Birmingham, signs for both Moore and Jones dotted the highway as voters cast ballots at a local Baptist church. Although several people supported the Democrat, it was the Republican who seemed to have a slight edge, though some voters spoke of mixed feelings in supporting him.
Ron Henry, 61, a service manager for a bus dealership, called Moore an “embarrassment” but said he voted for him reluctantly because he predicts he will not ultimately serve in the Senate. As an opponent of abortion, Henry said he did not consider voting for Jones.
Alabama has been overwhelmed in recent weeks by evidence of the election. Amid a seemingly statewide flourish of Christmas decorations, large, simple billboards urged passersby to “VOTE,” and Jones signs dominated yards, even in counties Trump won handily last year. On the radio, conservative talk shows devoted hours to defending Moore, while other stations, especially those playing country music, broadcast a pro-Jones commercial during nearly every break.
In Mountain Brook, where Jones voted, Moore supporters were scarce Tuesday amid heavy turnout.
[The Latest: Jones says Moore hiding in Alabama Senate race]
“This is the first time I’ve voted for a Democrat,” said Henry Waller, 24, who works in logistics for a granite company. “I’m a Christian, and I think Moore represents the absolute worst way to put Christianity into politics.”
In Birmingham’s primarily African American Woodlawn neighborhood, Genesis Johnson, 30, said he had not voted since 2008, when he supported Obama for president. He felt compelled to cast his vote for Jones, saying he was impressed by his successful prosecution of the perpetrators of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing.
“I saw a flier on my door about the good things Doug Jones stands for. To me it’s a no-brainer,” Johnson said.
The race seemed dominated by outside voices in its final days.
Reports of the robo-calls from Obama and Biden created some awkwardness for Jones, who has tried to win over Republican voters by portraying himself as an independent figure, not beholden to Democratic Party leaders. At the same time, he has relied on marquee national names to help boost Democratic turnout, especially among African American voters.
[Trump breaks another party norm with renewed support for Roy Moore]
Jones held a final campaign rally in Birmingham, where he was joined onstage by basketball Hall of Famer and Alabama native Charles Barkley, actress Alyssa Milano and the city’s newly elected mayor, Randall Woodfin.
In a short speech, Jones framed the election as a momentous chapter in Alabama’s history and urged them to consider how the state will be viewed by business leaders as a result of the election.
Moore, who had not held a campaign event since Dec. 5, made his final pitch to voters in Midland City, Ala.
“We dare defend our rights,” he declared, quoting the Alabama motto that was used by state leaders in the 1960s, during the fight against desegregation. Moore took the stage after his wife, Kayla, defended his commitment to diversity.
“My husband appointed the very first black marshal to the Alabama Supreme Court,” she said. “Fake news will tell you that we don’t care for Jews. One of our attorneys is a Jew.” The media, she added, needs to be “held accountable” for how it has covered the race.
Asked about the prospect of an investigation and the senators who want him expelled if he wins, Moore said Tuesday he would “take those issues up when we get to the Senate.”
Fahrenthold reported from Washington. Sullivan and Weigel reported from Alabama. Elise Viebeck, Michael Scherer, Philip Rucker and Scott Clement in Washington and Larry Bleiberg and Jenna Johnson in Alabama contributed to this report.