Bob Miller, NYT
FLORENCE – The mood in the room was a mixture of hope with a good salting of pensiveness. The gathering was the Democrats’ election party, complete with pizza.
As it turned out, history would not repeat itself. The special election for Jeff Sessions’ vacant seat in the United States Senate, saw a Democrat, Doug Jones of Jefferson County as the apparent victor. Unlike so many big elections in recent years, as the night progressed and the vote totals from the bigger counties rolled in, the energy of the room kept heating up. So many times hapless Democrats, by 9:30 pm would begin strolling out to return home to lick their political wounds. But that was not to be the case last night.
Indeed, by 9:30 Jones’ course was completed. His race was finished, And one of the most watched, most contentious Senate elections in recent history was over.
To most Alabamians, the contest was more than just a run for political office. It was a historic battle between religious soldiers of Christ and, as it turned out, the other half of the state, many of whom are themselves faithful church-goers. The contention has been palatable. Family members against one another. Friend against friend. Tribe against tribe. This was a microcosmic civil war. And, like the American Civil War, this election may have indicated that a tipping point was reached, and Alabama’s political pendulum has begun a slow, purposeful swing back toward the middle.
