By around 10 p.m. Central time, it was clear beyond any doubt that Roy Moore’s bid to take Jeff Sessions’ old Senate seat had failed. Between 9 and 10 p.m. Central, nearly every major media outlet had called the race for Moore’s Democratic challenger, Doug Jones. Ultimately, Jones prevailed by 20,700 votes, largely by going gangbusters in the cities. He carried Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, and Huntsville with 56 percent or more of the vote. His margins in either Birmingham or Montgomery would have been enough to put him over the top.
By the time the nation went to bed on Tuesday night, nearly every Republican with a stake in the race had conceded that Jones had won. But as of the close of business on Friday, one major holdout remains–Roy Moore himself.
Moore briefly dropped by his campaign’s election night watch party, hours after most media outlets called the race for Jones. Watch here, via PBS Newshour.
Moore campaign chairman Jim Armistead told the crowd that military absentee ballots haven’t been counted–hinting that enough of them could come in to drop Jones’ lead below the 0.5 percent threshold required for an automatic recount. As of Friday night, the margin is 1.5 percent–just above the threshold.
Moore himself claimed that due to the closeness of the margin, “it’s not over.” He urged the crowd to “wait on God” and let the process play out.
Just a few hours later, Moore took to YouTube and doubled down on his refusal to concede. Watch here.
Moore reiterated that his campaign was still waiting for military and provisional ballots to be counted, and for the results to be formally certified. The rest of the message was vintage Moore. He claimed that his campaign represented a battle for civilization itself, and that the forces who opposed him “do not share the vision of those who built this country,” and either don’t know or don’t understand that “God is the author of our life and liberty.”
Moore’s obstinacy stands in marked contrast to virtually everyone around him. Take Donald Trump, for instance. Within an hour of most media outlets proclaiming Jones the next Senator from Alabama, Trump fired off an unusually gracious tweet congratulating Jones.
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
Trump has also invited Jones to the White House. At Thursday’s press briefing, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders pointed to that invite as evidence that Trump believes this race is over. When asked if Trump believed Moore should concede, Sanders said that “should have already taken place.”
On Friday morning, Trump himself weighed in. Watch here.
Trump said in no uncertain terms, “I think he should (concede).” While allowing that “we would like to have the seat,” he is resigned to the fact that it will now be in the hands of a Democrat.
Moore’s loudest backer, Steve Bannon, hoped to make a Moore victory the opening salvo in his “Season of War” on the Republican establishment. But according to CNN, Bannon now realizes that battle is lost, and has told Moore campaign officials that they need to concede.
The Alabama Republican Party also knows this race is over. Just minutes after Trump congratulated Jones on Twitter, state party chairwoman Terry Lathan issued a statement saying that she and her colleagues were “deeply disappointed” at Moore’s loss, but conceded that “this race has ended.” The man Jones is due to replace, Luther Strange, has already reached out to Jones to help ensure a smooth transition, which will likely take place on January 3.
If Moore is hoping for an influx of military votes to drop his deficit below 0.5 percent, he’s in for a long wait. Alabama secretary of state John Merrill told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the certification of Jones’ victory will be a mere formality. Watch here.
Merrill told Tapper that is “highly unlikely” that anything will happen that will overturn Jones’ lead. He added that the counting process leaves little room for mistakes. Later, Merrill told The Washington Post that the election will be certified on December 28.
If the margin is still greater than 0.5 percent on that date, Moore can request a recount–but only if he is willing to pay for it. Merrill told Fortune that a recount would cost anywhere from $1 million to $1.5 million–an amount that must be paid in full when the request is made. At last report, Moore had only $636,000 on hand. It’s not likely the state GOP is willing to put up the rest of the money.
Just about everyone with a stake in this race knows that Moore lost on Tuesday–even Trump and Bannon, two men who aren’t exactly known for backing down. In all likelihood, Moore won’t be able to pay for a recount. At some point, someone needs to tell Moore that he’s on a fool’s errand.
(featured image courtesy Moore’s Facebook)
