By Molly Callahan
On Tuesday, Alabama voters elected Democrat Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions in a move that overturned a generation of Republican victories in the deep red state. Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore by a little more than 1 percentage point in an election that saw polling figures swing wildly back and forth, particularly as Moore faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations. As of Wednesday evening, Moore hadn’t conceded, citing the narrow margin of victory.
Jones’ victory—as well as other notable Democratic victories this year in Virginia and New Jersey—further signals the challenges Republicans face going into next year’s midterm elections, according to Northeastern political science professor Costas Panagopoulos.