On Tuesday, Alabama held a special election to replace a Senate seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The two main candidates, Roy Moore and Doug Jones, were expected to have a close race. The results did not disappoint.  

Alabama has been a consistently red state since 1996 — until Tuesday night.

The special election has attracted national attention and controversy over the past few weeks. Roy has been accused of making unwanted sexual advances on minors. He has been accused by at least 8 women of sexual misconduct, and was banned from his local mall due to these accusations.

The credibility of his accusers have been called into question There was a woman who approached the Washington Post who appeared to be part of an undercover operation to falsely accuse Moore.  Voters were split along party lines about the validity of these claims. According to CNN, 9 out of 10 people who said they voted for Moore believed that the allegations were false while 9 out of 10 people who voted for Doug Jones said they believed the allegations were true.

With all counties reporting, the Alabama Secretary of State reported Jones 49.92 percent of the vote, and Moore with 48.38 percent of the vote. Jones won the vote of blacks, with a 96% to 4% victory, and lost the white vote 30% to 68%, a CBS poll reports.   

Votes were still very extreme on party lines, since Moore won 91% of the Republican vote, and Jones won 98% of the Democrat vote. Independents were split, with 53% voting for Jones and 43% voting for Moore, according to a CBS poll.  

President Donald Trump, who voiced strong support for Moore, tweeted out Tuesday night, “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!”

Moore has since refused to concede, since the results were extremely close. On Wednesday evening, Moore’s campaign  said they are still waiting for the official vote count from Alabama officials.

The unexpected victory for Jones was exciting for many celebrities, and some took to social media to share their thoughts. Kerry Washington tweeted Tuesday “Alabama. I want to thank every single 1 of u who voted for #DougJones4Senate because today u voted for a more perfect union. A place where we ALL matter. God bless u.”  Joe Biden, former Vice President tweeted “Doug Jones. Thank you, Alabama. You’ve elected a man of incredible integrity, grit, and character. A fighter for working class and middle class Alabamians. He is going to make you proud in the Senate.”

The victory for Jones lessened the Republicans majority in the Senate to only one, and could certainly be a damper on morale for the party. The GOP is currently trying to push a tax overhaul through, and they are hoping to have it done by the end of the year.