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Politics: Jones Wins Upset in Alabama Senate Race

posted by martyb on Wednesday December 13 2017, @08:06PM   
from the It's-Fake-News-until-the-Fat-Man-Sings dept.

Fluffeh writes:

Democrat Doug Jones won a remarkable upset victory over controversial rival Roy Moore in the diehard Republican state of Alabama on Tuesday to win election to the US Senate.

By a margin of 49.5 to 48.9 with 91% of precincts reporting, Jones dealt a major blow to Donald Trump and his efforts to pass tax reform on Capitol Hill. Jones was able to become the first Democrat in a decade to win any statewide office in Alabama by beating Moore, who had faced multiple allegations of sexual assault during a campaign which exposed Republican party faultlines.

The Democratic victory will reduce the Republican majority in the Senate to 51-49 once Jones takes his seat on Capitol Hill. This significantly reduces the margin for error as Republicans attempt to push through a major corporate tax cut.

takyon: The final count is:

Doug Jones - 671,151 votes (49.9%)
Roy Moore - 650,436 votes (48.4%)
Write-ins (total) - 22,819 votes (1.7%)

The margin for an automatic recount in Alabama is 0.5%. Roy Moore has yet to concede.

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Original Submission

• Re:Summary wrong, no impact to tax bill (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday December 14 2017, @12:42AM

  by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday December 14 2017, @12:42AM (#609512) Journal

  Democrats’ demands to delay tax-bill action rejected [marketwatch.com]

  Republican Tax Bill in Final Sprint Across Finish Line [nytimes.com]

  Party leaders in the House and Senate agreed in principle to bridge the yawning gaps between their competing versions of the $1.5 trillion tax bill, keeping Republicans on track for final votes next week with the aim of delivering a bill to President Trump’s desk by Christmas. The House and Senate versions of the tax bill started from the same core principles — sharply cutting taxes on businesses, while reducing rates and eliminating some breaks for individuals — but diverged on several crucial details.

  In the end, more of the Senate bill appeared to be included in the final version, though lawmakers continued to make significant changes from the legislation that passed either the House or Senate.

  The changes included a slightly higher corporate tax rate of 21 percent, rather than the 20 percent in the legislation that passed both chambers and a lower top individual tax rate of 37 percent for the wealthiest Americans, who currently pay 39.6 percent. But the bill will still scale back some popular tax breaks, including the state and local tax deduction and the deductibility of mortgage interest.

  Republicans have agreed to pass the tax bill. Very swiftly. They didn't want to wait for 51-49 Senate.

  Going forward, centrist Republican Senators will have more leverage to get what they want in bills, since their votes will be needed more than ever.

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  [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

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