Alabama was a once in a million anomaly.
It all started with Gov. Bentley’s affair with a much younger woman, the audio tapes of him speaking to his married paramour about her breasts while she was making big bucks with dark money funds. If you wanted the governor, you went through Rebecca “Pay the Lady” Mason.
Luther Strange accepted the senate appointment while serving as Attorney General. So of course the investigation into Bentley and Mason died.
So no, Alabama was not going to elect Strange, no matter what.
That set the stage for Judge Roy Moore. Then a forged yearbook and an accuser represented by a law firm owned by Ed Gentle, the treasurer of the Alabama Democratic Party set the stage for a GOP defeat.
Throw in a crooked media and a little vote fraud and viola: you get Doug Jones.
...Throw in a crooked media and a little vote fraud and viola: you get Doug Jones.
Pretty much how I understand what happened. I would only add that without people like Richard Shelby and Jeff Flake aiding the enemy, Moore would have still pulled it out.
Richard Shelby especially impacted the election by urging all his own voters to vote against Moore.
voilà
A viola is a stringed musical instrument.