This marks the first time a Democrat has won any statewide office in the traditionally Republican state in 10 years.
This Tuesday, Democrat Party candidate Doug Jones defeated his highly controversial rival, Judge Roy Moore, in a crucial senatorial race.
With all precincts reporting, Jones took 49.9 percent of the vote, while Moore trailed behind with 48.4 percent.
The embattled Republican candidate, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers, refused to concede the race.
Speaking to his supporters after the results were announced, Moore declared that “when the vote is this close it’s not over” before arguing that he had been “painted in an unfavorable and unfaithful light” throughout the election campaign.
Last November, a number of women came forward, alleging sexually inappropriate behavior, including sexual assault, on the part of Moore.
Leigh Corfman told the Washington Post that Moore pressed her to perform sexual acts when she was just 14 years old. Beverly Nelson claimed that the GOP candidate forcefully touched her breasts in a car, whilst Tina Johnson alleged that the former judge grabbed her buttocks when she met him in his office.
Data from the exit polls revealed that about 51 percent of the voters believed that these allegations were “probably or definitely true,” while 44% percent rejected the claims as false.
Addressing his supporters, however, Jones denied that the elections were about him or Moore personally, claiming that the “entire race has been about dignity and respect.”
“This campaign — this campaign has been about the rule of law.”
“This campaign has been about common courtesy and decency and making sure everyone in this state, regardless of which ZIP code you live in, is going to get a fair shake in life”, Jones declared.
An important factor, however, was the racial divide in Alabama, as 96% of black voters, who made up some 30% of the electorate, backed Jones.
Apart from its symbolic meaning, the fact that a Democrat won in Alabama trims the already slim Republican majority in the Senate to 51-47, endangering many of the Trump Administration reforms.
The US President, who staunchly stood by Moore regardless of allegations, twitted his congratulations to Jones, albeit with certain reservations.
“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!” the tweet said.
However, a White House source told CNN that privately Trump is very upset by the loss.
“This is an earthquake… it’s devastating for the President,” the source said.
The public, however, reacted cheerfully to Moore’s loss, taking it to Twitter to celebrate.