By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Monday, the Doug Jones for Senate campaign released its first television ad: “Washington’s Broken.”
In the spot, Jones says he will be an independent voice who will bring both sides together to make life better for Alabamians.
Jones says that he shares Alabamians’ frustration with the broken politics of Washington and politicians who have forgotten what it truly means to serve – and how he’ll serve in the U.S. Senate as an independent voice of reason, working to bring both sides together to make a positive difference for the middle class.
The ad will begin running today and reach voters across the state.
“I’m running for the U.S. Senate because our leaders have lost sight of what it means to serve. Continuing to divide us won’t make a positive difference in people’s lives. We need more voices of reason who will listen to us. We need leaders people can talk to and trust, even if they don’t agree on everything. I’m running for Senate because Washington’s broken, and I want to fix that for Alabama,” Jones said in the ad.
Doug Jones faces a difficult challenge in Alabama. The people of Alabama have not voted for a Democrat since 1992 when they re-elected Richard Shelby, who switched to the Republican Party just two years later saying the Democratic Party left him.
The Roy Moore for Senate campaign has already attacked Jones for his view that abortions should remain legal even in the eighth and ninth month of a pregnancy.
“Abortion. Doug Jones has advocated for Planned Parenthood, and just this past week, he went on the record stating without hesitation that a woman should have the right to an abortion all the way up until the day before the baby is delivered. This is an outrageously extreme position that is further to the left than even some of the most liberal abortion-rights activists in the country. Doug Jones has proven himself to be completely out of step with Alabama values and mainstream America. Judge Moore believes in the sanctity of life and opposes the taking of the life of an unborn child,” Moore Campaign Chairman Bill Armistead added.
63 percent of Alabama voters supported Donald Trump (R) for president just 11 months ago. The Moore campaign has questioned Doug Jones’ ability to work with the president and confirm the president’s judicial picks.
Moore has much greater name recognition than Jones and is leading in a recent polls by eight percentage points.
Both national parties seem to have adopted a wait-and-see approach before committing large amounts of resources, waiting to see what Jones and the Alabama Democratic Party can do on their own.
The special general election will be on Dec. 12, 2017.
