2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama

The 2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama took place on December 12, 2017, in order to fill the Class II Senate seat for the remainder of the six year term. A vacancy arose after incumbent Republican Senator Jeff Sessions resigned from the Senate on February 8, 2017 to serve as the 84th U.S. attorney general. On February 9, 2017, Governor Robert J. Bentley appointed Luther Strange, the attorney general of Alabama, to fill the vacancy until a special election could take place. The special election was scheduled for December 12, 2017.

Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, won the Democratic primary election. Roy Moore, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, competed with Strange and U.S. Representative Mo Brooks in the August 15, 2017, Republican primary; the two highest vote-getters, Moore and Strange, advanced to a runoff. President Donald Trump supported Strange during the primary runoff, as did much of the Republican establishment in the Senate. Moore won the primary runoff on September 26, 2017.

Following the primaries, Moore was expected to easily win the general election. Polling showed him with a clear lead, and Alabama is known for its overwhelming support for Republicans. The race was upended in mid-November 2017, when multiple women alleged that Moore had made unwanted advances or sexually assaulted them when he was in his early thirties and they were aged between 14 and 22, attracting widespread national media coverage of the election. As a result of these allegations, many national Republican leaders and office holders called for Moore to withdraw from the special election, rescinded their endorsements of him, and stopped funding his campaign. Trump and many Alabama Republicans reaffirmed their support. At the time of the revelations, it was too late to remove his name from the ballot.

On December 12, 2017, Jones won by a margin of 1.63% or 21,924 votes; however, Moore refused to concede. Jones' victory was widely labeled a major upset. He was sworn into office on January 3, 2018, becoming the first Democratic U.S. senator from Alabama since Howell Heflin left office in 1997. This was the first time Democrats had won a statewide election in Alabama since 2008, when Lucy Baxley was elected president of the Alabama Public Service Commission.

Background

Potential appointees

Following then-President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of then-Senator Sessions to be U.S. attorney general, Robert Aderholt, a member of the United States House of Representatives, had asked to be appointed to the seat. Representative Mo Brooks had also expressed interest in the seat, while Strange had stated before being selected that he would run for the seat in the special election whether or not he was appointed. Other candidates Governor Bentley interviewed for the Senate appointment included Moore; Del Marsh, the president pro tempore of the Alabama Senate; and Jim Byard, the director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

A vacancy arose from Senator Jeff Sessions' February 8, 2017 resignation to serve as the 84th U.S. attorney general. On February 9, 2017, Governor Robert J. Bentley appointed State Attorney General Luther Strange to fill the vacancy until a special election could take place. Bentley controversially scheduled the special election to occur in 2018 instead of sooner. When Kay Ivey succeeded Bentley as Alabama's governor, she rescheduled the special election for December 12, 2017, a move she said was made to adhere with state law.

Republican primary

Campaign

The Republican primary attracted national attention, especially following Trump's endorsement of incumbent Senator Luther Strange. Strange was backed by several key figures within the Republican establishment, most notably Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader. His two main rivals in the primary were former state judge Roy Moore and Congressman Mo Brooks. While Strange was expected to advance through the first round of the primary, almost every opinion poll showed him trailing Roy Moore in a potential runoff. Strange placed second behind Roy Moore, securing a spot in the runoff.

Candidates

Nominated

• Roy Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and candidate for governor in 2006 and 2010

Eliminated in runoff

• Luther Strange, incumbent U.S. senator (appointed) and former attorney general of Alabama

Eliminated in primary

• James Beretta, physician
• Joseph F. Breault, Air Force chaplain and nominee for the Utah House of Representatives in 2016
• Randy Brinson, gastroenterologist and activist
• Mo Brooks, U.S. representative
• Dom Gentile, businessman
• Karen Jackson, attorney and perennial candidate
• Mary Maxwell, candidate for NH-02 in 2006
• Bryan Peeples, businessman
• Trip Pittman, state senator

Withdrew

• Ed Henry, state representative (withdrew from race on May 17).

Declined

Endorsements

First round

Polling

Results

Runoff

President Donald Trump supported Strange during the primary runoff, in addition to much of the Republican establishment in the Senate, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who made the success of Strange's candidacy a major priority. Trump's efforts on behalf of Strange included tweeting and a rally in Huntsville, Alabama. Vice President Mike Pence campaigned for Strange as well. With McConnell's help, Strange outspent Moore by a margin of 10-to-1.

National interest in the race dramatically increased in the month before the runoff. Strange maintained his endorsement from Trump, who campaigned for him in Huntsville during the closing days of the campaign. Trump's endorsement of Strange sparked criticism among his own base, many of whom preferred Moore and detested Strange for being seemingly too friendly with the GOP establishment. Several notable figures close to Trump broke from the president to endorse Moore, including HUD Secretary Ben Carson and Breitbart Executive Chairman Steve Bannon. Despite Trump's endorsement, Strange was defeated by Roy Moore in the runoff, 54.6%-45.4%.

Moore won the primary runoff on September 26, 2017. This was the first time that an incumbent U.S. senator having active White House support lost a primary since Arlen Specter lost to Joe Sestak in 2010.