Sweet home Alabama, where the skies are so blue.
Many were glued to their phones and television sets on Dec. 13 into the late hours of the night watching the Alabama Senate Election. Roy Moore, the Republican candidate, alleged child molester, and known bigot, held a 5-8 point lead for the first half of the election results. Republicans thought they had it -- already hassling people on Twitter with comments such as, "There is about to be a Liberal snowflake meltdown," with only a little over 40% of precincts reported.
However, although Moore may have ridden in on horseback to vote for himself earlier that day, the Democratic candidate, Doug Jones, would become the dark horse in this race by the end of the night. As more votes were tallied and 81% of precincts reported, Doug Jones took the lead by 1% over Moore. He continued to hold around a 10,000 vote lead until the election was officially called in his favor.
In an election in which the right choice seemed obvious to anyone with strong morals and strong opposition to sexual assault, it was not as easy as choosing between good and bad. Alabama, one of the reddest states in the country, hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in 25 years. Many Republicans still turned out to vote for teen-loving Moore, despite the allegations against him: 72% of white men and 63% of white women voted for Moore.
Ultimately, it was the black vote that narrowly won this one for Jones, with 93% of votes from black men and 98% from black women.
Now, people are left wondering if this election marks a turning point for America, or if Roy Moore simply lost because he is a terrible person and not fit to serve in the Senate.
I would assume a little of both.
Some are blaming Moore's support from President Trump and Steve Bannon for his loss, but it seems more probable that his own actions and beliefs led to his downfall. This is setting a precedent for Alabama, the country, and the world, that voters know where to draw the line -- sexual assault, bigotry, and homophobia will no longer result in a slap on the wrist in this country.
One thing the country now knows for sure is to not underestimate the black vote or the vote of those who feel close to these issues. In fact, the black vote turned out more for Jones in this election than it did for Obama -- which, at the time, was a record-breaking turnout in Alabama for the Democratic party.
Right now, it's hard to say exactly what this will mean for the country moving forward. However, this election has given hope to those who speak out against sexual assault, racism, and the oppression of American civil rights for the first time in a long time. People are fired up, and they're ready to fight back.
This will no longer be a country that allows this behavior, and if people have to, they'll turn your state blue.