Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Thursday that Judge Roy Moore should finally concede defeat to Senator-elect Doug Jones in the Alabama special election nearly two days since Jones was declared the victor.
“Absolutely,” Shelby told reporters in the Capitol. “But that’s up to him. He’s 25,000 votes down. The election’s over."
“I think he should concede,” Shelby said, adding that Jones’ lead is “substantial.”
He said he isn’t sure why he is waiting things out. Moore said in a statement Wednesday night that they are “awaiting certification” of Jones’ win by the Alabama secretary of state, which is scheduled to happen after Christmas.
“I have no idea,” Shelby said. “He has not consulted me.”
Moore’s first comments since election night came in a video message to his supporters, in which he declared that the “battle rages on.”
"We are indeed in a struggle to preserve our republic, our civilization, and our religion and to set free a suffering humanity. And the battle rages on," Moore said in the video message to supporters.
"In this race, we have not received the final count to include military and provisional ballots," Moore said. "This has been a very close race and we are awaiting certification by the secretary of state.”
An automatic runoff would have been triggered if the margin had been 0.5 percent or less. With nearly all ballots accounted for, Jones holds a 1.5-point lead over the two-time chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
