It’s a new day in politics, but the same old Donald Trump. After a stunning win by Doug Jones last night, Trump (surprisingly) had a gracious tweet for the victor.
Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017
But was it really a Trump tweet? He was back in character this morning absolving himself of any responsibility.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017
With all the votes counted, the final tally shows Moore losing by more than 20,000 votes. Will he ask for a recount? It seems unlikely because the margin of victory is 1.5%. For an automatic recount, the margin would have to be less than .5%. Interestingly, more than 20,000 votes were write-in votes for other candidates.
Meanwhile, the turnout among black women is seen as the difference maker in the election. From USA Today:
According to the exit polls, 17% of voters in the election were black women, and 98% of them voted for Jones. The exit polls found that 31% of voters were white women, and only 34% of them voted for Jones, while 63% voted for Moore.
Many people used the hashtag #BlackWomen to voice support for Jones and noted that Democrats need to step up their support for minorities.
As for passing the blame around, Republican Congressman Peter King says Steve Bannon is responsible for the Republicans losing the Alabama senate seat.
After Alabama disaster GOP must do right thing and DUMP Steve Bannon. His act is tired, inane and morally vacuous. If we are to Make America Great Again for all Americans, Bannon must go! And go NOW!!
— Rep. Pete King (@RepPeteKing) December 13, 2017
We’ll update this story throughout the day.