This Tuesday, Dec. 12, Doug Jones broke a 25 year streak. He is the first Democrat to hold a senate seat in Alabama since 1994.

His Republican opponent, Roy Moore, held several positions in state office before this most recent election. He was a circuit judge and later appointed as Chief Justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court.

Jones was also present in Alabama government before the election. He is well known for prosecuting Ku Klux Klan members involved with the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

Unlike Moore, his ideals are liberal leaning.

Moore was part of several controversies while serving. He encouraged courts to deny same-sex couples marriage licenses even after federal law had been amended to allow this gay marriage.

Despite this, Moore was still the frontrunner to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat, leading the polls by 16 points in early October.

A month before election, the Washington Post released a report accusing Moore of attempting to date and engage in sexual activity with teenage girls.

Although he denied that he had ever assaulted anyone, eight women spoke out against him, testifying that he had had inappropriate conduct with them. Many of them cited experiences from when they were as young as 14, and Moore was his 30s.

Despite Trump’s endorsement, Moore’s lead declined, giving the Democratic Jones a stronger chance at securing the seat.

Jones ran on the platform of better access to planned parenthood, fighting climate change and the elimination of discrimination among other issue, according to his website.

These left-leaning, liberal ideals are considerably different than platforms conservative Alabamians generally support.

According to the Guardian, On the morning of election day, Moore and his wife rode their horses to cast their votes, dismissing reporters questions about the allegations. Moore assured reporters “when we win,” the problems will be addressed.

As the election drew to a close, however, the polls did not reflect Moore’s confidence. According to the NY times, Jones secured the Senate seat with 49.9% of the votes to Moore’s 48.4%.

Jones greeted the news enthusiastically, tweeting, “Thank you ALABAMA!!” at the sign of his victory.

According to the New York Times, Moore on the other hand, refused to acknowledge the loss and demanded a recount.

“I really want to thank you for coming tonight and realize when the vote is this close that it’s not over,” he said in his concession speech.

Alabama will not automatically hold a recount, because the vote was not within .5%. However, if Moore pays, the state will reevaluate the results.

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Photos courtesy of Creative Commons.