DEMS/GOP/POLITICS: “Democrat Doug Jones, who hopes to pull off an upset in Alabama’s Dec. 12 special Senate election, is gaining traction as Republican Roy Moore is being weighed down by sexual-misconduct allegations.
On the campaign trail, Mr. Jones is running an under-the-radar campaign, compared with the television klieg lights surrounding his rival. His campaign message isn’t designed to energize his party’s progressive activists, but rather to connect with more conservative Alabama voters.
He is trying to keep his campaign’s focus on kitchen table issues like jobs and health care. ‘I want to be a voice for reason in the turmoil of modern Washington,’ Mr. Jones says on his website. ‘I’m running for the Senate to return dignity to the citizens of Alabama.’
His campaign centerpiece is his record as a straight-shooting U.S. attorney in Alabama. ‘We’re staying in our lane,’ Mr. Jones, 63 years old, told reporters in Birmingham earlier this week…
To win, Mr. Jones will need to draw Republican votes. One of the biggest potential obstacles to that might be his strong support for abortion rights. In an MSNBC interview in September, he said he would oppose legislation barring abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.”
-Joshua Jamerson and Janet Hook, “Democrat Doug Jones, Roy Moore’s Rival, Gains Traction in Alabama Senate Race,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 16, 2017 11:21pm