Politicians Weigh In as Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Seat

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For more than two hours on Tuesday night, many Americans bit their nails and glued themselves to a screen as the votes rolled in.

Then, in a matter of minutes, media outlets — in rapid succession — called the Alabama Senate race for Doug Jones, a Democrat who defeated Roy S. Moore, a Republican accused of sexual abuse and child molestation.

And almost as quickly, high-profile politicians took to Twitter to weigh in.

Just after 11 p.m., President Trump congratulated Mr. Jones on his favored platform, arguing that “the write-in votes played a very big factor” in the outcome, though he also acknowledged that “a win is a win.”

About 22,800 write-in votes had been counted. Just before midnight on Tuesday, Mr. Jones was more than 20,000 votes ahead of Mr. Moore with all the precincts having reported. (Mr. Moore did not concede defeat late Tuesday.)

Still, Mr. Trump forged ahead.

“The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time,” he said on Twitter. “It never ends!

Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump’s opponent in the 2016 presidential election, said on Twitter that Alabama voters had elected a senator who would “make them proud.”

“And if Democrats can win in Alabama, we can — and must — compete everywhere,” she said. “Onward!”

Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate minority leader, released a statement that both praised Mr. Jones and excoriated Mr. Moore.

“Doug Jones will be an outstanding Senator who will represent Alabama well. He was a great candidate and will be an even better Senator,” Mr. Schumer said. “Roy Moore was an awful candidate and never should have gotten to the Senate. But make no mistake about it, just like in Virginia, Democrats are energized, focused on the middle class and those struggling to get there, and things are looking better and better for 2018.”

Many Republican politicians remained relatively quiet on Tuesday night. But one who spoke out was Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, who sent a check to Mr. Jones’s campaign this month and posted a photo of it on Twitter.

He kept his comments concise on Tuesday. In an apparent reference to the allegations of sexual abuse against Mr. Moore, Mr. Flake tweeted simply: “Decency wins.”