Doug Jones became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Alabama in 25 years on Tuesday after defeating controversial Republican candidate Roy Moore. The Senate Leadership Fund, a Super PAC allied with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, thinks it has identified the problem: Stephen Bannon.
Everything was fine. The state was red, Republicans were winning...until Bannon showed up and started campaigning for Moore, the Super PAC suggested on Twitter.
The Bannon Effect. pic.twitter.com/jVc55MP5vL
— Senate Leadership Fund (@Senate_Fund) December 14, 2017
Bannon campaigned for Moore despite top Republicans repudiating the candidate amidst a slew of sexual assault allegations. Eight women came forward during the campaign to allege that Moore had taken advantage of them. McConnell told him to "step aside" so they could get another candidate in there to secure a very winnable seat. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan agreed, saying Moore was "unfit" to serve. As for Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), he donated $100 to Jones.
Bannon pushed back at these Republicans, telling them to get in line and vote for Moore. After weeks of consideration, President Trump endorsed Moore, warning voters that they could not allow a liberal Democrat to get ahold of that seat.
It didn't work. The bad headlines surrounding Moore energized Alabama Democrats to get to the polls and make history.
Bannon should've listened to those "establishment Republicans," Senate Leadership Fund President Steven Law suggested.
“This is a brutal reminder that candidate quality matters regardless of where you are running," Law said in a statement. "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.”
Jones's seat will not be eligible again until 2020.
This isn't the first time the Senate Leadership Fund has had beef with Bannon.