Lawmakers offer words of encouragement for Alabama's next senator
Many Democrats and Republicans alike are voicing their support for Jones.
— -- In the wake of Doug Jones' historic Alabama special election victory, Democrats and Republicans alike voiced their support for the senator-elect.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., released the following statement immediately after some media outlets called the race in Jones' favor.
“Doug Jones will be an outstanding Senator who will represent Alabama well. He was a great candidate and will be an even better senator," Schumer said. “Roy Moore was an awful candidate and never should have gotten to the Senate. But make no mistake about it, just like in Virginia, Democrats are energized, focused on the middle class and those struggling to get there, and things are looking better and better for 2018.”
The tweets from Democrats came swiftly.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she was looking forward to working with Jones on the Hill.
Hot DAMN — Sen. Maggie Hassan (@SenatorHassan) December 13, 2017
Former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton took Jones' win as a call for more Democrats to run for office.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who on Tuesday called out President Trump for a "sexist smear" aimed at her, called Jones' win a victory for "standing for what's right."
Even Republicans, many of whom did not endorse the Republican candidate Roy Moore, are weighing in on Jones' historic win.
Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who last week tweeted a photo of a $100 check he said he planned to donate to Jones' campaign, tweeted the following:
“Tonight’s results are clear – the people of Alabama deemed Roy Moore unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate,” Chairman of the National Republican Senate Committee Sen. Cory Gardner said in a statement. “I hope Senator-elect Doug Jones will do the right thing and truly represent Alabama by choosing to vote with the Senate Republican Majority."
Senate Leadership Fund President and CEO Steven Law released the following statement: “This is a brutal reminder that candidate quality matters regardless of where you are running. Not only did Steve Bannon cost us a critical Senate seat in one of the most Republican states in the country, but he also dragged the President of the United States into his fiasco.”
The president himself also offered his congratulations to Jones.
Former political heavyweights also chimed in with their words of support for Jones.