FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
DOUG JONES WINS ALABAMA SENATE RACE
A statement by Rev Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
A coalition of black and white voters spared Alabama from international shame and disgrace tonight by electing Democrat Doug Jones to be the state’s next United States Senator.
Tonight is a victory for affordable health care, decent wages for workers, education, women and children’s rights.
The coalition that pushed Jones over the finish line can win and redeem the whole South. Jones’ strategists were hoping for at least a 25 percent black share of the overall vote. President Barack Obama set the record with a 28 percent share in 2012, but tonight it looks like the black vote will shatter that record and enjoy a 30 percent share of the overall vote.
Republican Roy Moore won in the rural counties as expected but his turnout was relatively low, in the 50 percent range of the 2016 presidential race. Jones also won where he was expected to win but his turnout, especially in the black areas, was off the chart strong in the unheard of range of 70 percent compared to the vote in 2016.
It is a stinging repudiation of the divisive politics of Moore, President Donald Trump and strategist Steven Bannon and bodes well for Democrats looking at House and Senate congressional races in 2018.
Tonight is a time for celebration. But when the morning comes, it is time to get back to work, organizing for next year’s mid-terms.
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
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Frank Watkins
fwatkins@rainbowpush.org
Don Terry
dterry@rainbowpush.org
Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a multi-racial, multi-issue, progressive, international organization that was formed in December 1996 by the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. through merging of two organizations he founded Operation PUSH People United to Serve Humanity (estab. 1971) and the Rainbow Coalition (estab. 1984). With headquarters in Chicago and offices in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Oakland, the organization works to make the American Dream a reality for all citizens while advocating for peace and justice around the world. RPC is dedicated to improving the lives of all people by serving as a voice for the voiceless. Its mission is to protect, defend and gain civil rights by leveling the economic and educational playing fields while promoting peace and justicearound the world.
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