Black and youth voters turn out to vote for a Doug Jones win in Alabama.

In a stunning upset, the Democrat Doug Jones has beaten his Donald Trump backed Republican rival Roy Moore in the deep Southern state of Alabama which is a Republican stronghold.

His victory came in a special election for a US senate seat and was by a margin of 49.9 to 48.4 with the remaining 1.7% going to write in votes.

Jones has become the first Democrat in a decade to win any state office in Alabama by beating Moore who faced multiple allegations of sexual assault during a campaign which exposed Republican Party faults.

Moore was widely expected to win the election until two women came forward and claimed that he had assaulted them when they were teenagers.  A number of other women also came forward to claim that Moore had made sexual advances on them while they were teenagers but he denied the accusations.

When the accusations emerged, some Republicans distanced themselves from Moore. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said that he believes the women. Trump’s press secretary said that Moore should “do the right thing and step aside…if those allegations are true.” Trump however, ultimately came out strongly in support of Moore.

The people of Alabama will do the right thing. Doug Jones is Pro-Abortion, weak on Crime, Military and Illegal Immigration, Bad for Gun Owners and Veterans and against the WALL. Jones is a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet. Roy Moore will always vote with us. VOTE ROY MOORE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2017

Rural votes came in first and they strongly were in favour of Moore but as time progressed and votes from the cities came in, Moore’s lead shrunk.

The two candidates had contrasting backgrounds and characters. Jones is composed and friendly while Moore comes across as angry and sour.

As a conservative Christian, Moore spoke to traditional Alabama conservative issues. He is anti-abortion, anti-same-sex marriage and spoke often about his own religiousness.

Moore was twice removed from his post as Alabama’s chief justice for flouting federal law and he believes that homosexuality should be illegal, Muslims should not be allowed to serve in congress and that the Congress exists to promote Christianity in America.

Jones was a federal prosecutor who successfully convicted domestic terrorists; two KKK Klansmen who killed four black girls in a Church bombing in 1963. Jones is also an avid environmentalist:

 “As an outdoorsman and hunter, I will support policies that conserve the waterways, lands and wildlife that Alabama residents and visitors enjoy 365 days a year for hiking, hunting, fishing, boating and other recreational activities,” he said. “Hunting and fishing have an economic impact of $2.7 billion in Alabama and support 30,500 jobs. Being good stewards is good for our state and good for business.”