Alabama shocker: Six ways stunning Senate result upends American politics
WASHINGTON — It took a near-miraculous confluence of factors for a pro-choice Democrat to win the state of Alabama — but it happened. The ruby-red Republican state delivered a stunning result to elect Democrat Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate.
Last time Democrats didn’t even mount a campaign. A write-in Democratic candidate lost to Jeff Sessions by a nearly inconceivable margin of almost 95 per cent, and this time the party won by 1.5 per cent.
Here are six ways this reshapes American politics.
1— Passing bills just got harder for the GOP. Republicans will hold just a one-vote majority in the Senate. That means their legislation can be more easily defeated, and their judicial appointments rejected. All it takes is for two Republicans to defect, instead of the current three. This gives Republican moderates like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski quasi-veto power on everything. Aware of this, the parties scrambled Wednesday over the timing of a major vote on taxes: Republicans rushed to pass a bill this year, ignoring a demand from Democrats that they pause for a few weeks so the newly elected senator can be sworn in.