Blow for Republicans as Trump’s Alabama candidate loses out
DONALD TRUMP attempted to distance himself from a damaging electoral defeat yesterday by saying he never thought Roy Moore could win the Alabama senate race.
The US president claimed he had been proven “right” by the Republican candidate’s shock defeat because he initially supported a more mainstream politician as the party’s pick.
But the remarks did little to limit the fallout from a loss that has thrown his legislative agenda into question and reignited a party civil war.
Doug Jones became the first Democratic senator to be elected in Alabama for 25 years on Tuesday as he defeated Mr Moore by 49.9 per cent to 48.4 per cent. Mr Moore, who faced multiple allegations of assaulting underage teenage girls, did not formally concede but any recount is not expected to prove successful.
The result means Republicans now hold 51 senate seats to their opponents’ 49, with just two Republican rebels enough to block any new legislation.
That leaves Mr Trump more exposed to his internal party critics and makes repealing Barack Obama’s healthcare law or passing future legislation harder.
The win has re-energised a Democratic Party still reeling from its 2016 presidential loss and raised hopes that it can take back control of the senate and the house of representatives next year. It has also created tension between Mr Trump and Steve Bannon, his former aide whose determination to kick out sitting Republican senators contributed to the loss in Alabama.
Mr Trump, who had publicly endorsed Mr Moore against the advice of many senior Republicans, initially tweeted his congratulations to Mr Jones, saying “a win is a win”.
But he later attempted to limit the political damage by noting he had first supported Luther Strange, the incumbent Republican candidate who Mr Moore defeated in the primaries.
Mr Trump tweeted: “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!”
He also lashed out at Republican establishment figures supposedly pleased with Mr Moore’s loss. There had been suggestions that having Mr Moore in the senate would contaminate the party’s brand.
Mr Trump said: “I wish we would have gotten the seat. A lot of Republicans feel differently, they’re very happy with the way it turned out. But as the leader of the party I would have liked to have had this seat.”
Mr Jones’s unexpected victory in Alabama, a state that voted two thirds for Mr Trump in last year’s US election, was credited to a high turnout from African American voters. Some 30 per cent of the total voters were African American, according to an exit poll – a higher proportion than in either of Mr Obama’s presidential victories.
Addressing cheering supporters, Mr Jones said: “This entire race has been about dignity and respect. This campaign has been about the rule of law, about common courtesy and decency.”
Mr Moore, who denied all the allegations against him, raised the possibility of demanding a recount in his appearance, saying: “When the vote is this close, it is not over.” However, nothing had been announced yesterday.