© Reuters
Moore has reportedly set up an 'election integrity fund' to investigate if voter fraud contributed to his loss.
The former state supreme court judge has refused to recognize the defeat which came by a margin of just over 20,000 votes, less than two percent of the overall total. Despite his campaign being rocked by multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, Moore had been favorite to gain the seat held by the Republicans for 25 years.
Last week, Jones claimed a seemingly unlikely victory, with US President Donald Trump even taking to Twitter to congratulate him on his "razor thin" victory. However, Moore has now sent an email to supporters declaring that the "battle is not over." According to the Associate Press, the email includes a call for donations to a so-called election integrity fund. It's thought the money will be used to scrutinize voting patterns in the Alabama state election.
Reacting to news of Moore's fundraising for a voter fraud investigation, Jones told CNN's State of the Union that his rival should "move on."
"Alabama has spoken," he said. "It was a close election, there's no question about that. But elections can be close sometimes. Now is the time to heal and move on to the next thing. The election should be certified in a week or so, and I'll be ready to go regardless of whether he concedes or not."
In a statement released immediately after the defeat, Moore thanked those who supported him during the "arduous"campaign but unusually did not concede defeat in the race. He said military and provisional ballots had yet to be counted. He also stated that the election was tainted by outside actors, a claim he did not expand on.
"Immorality sweeps over our land. Even our political process has been affected with baseless and false allegations which have become more relevant than the true issues which affect our country," he said. "This election was tainted by over $50 million from outside groups who want to retain power and their own corrupt ideology."
Comment: See: Roy Moore defeated by Democrat Doug Jones for Alabama Senate. It appears the smear campaign against Moore won out over voters (assuming no tampering; not necessarily a safe assumption, mind you). It probably didn't help that the press jumped on Moore in the 11th hour for "praising Putin," a total exaggeration of his statement. It's a real testament to how effective a media smear campaign can be, to turn a traditionally red state blue. At this point in American history, vote tampering is just part of the electoral process. Even if it occurs, there is no official acknowledgment, and no consequences. The winner "wins", "fair" and square. A lot will have to chance before that changes.