Republican Tommy Tuberville Takes Away Democrat-Held Senate Seat in Alabama

Former Auburn football coach and Republican Tommy Tuberville has won Alabama's Senate race after going head to head with Democratic incumbent Sen. Doug Jones. 

The Associated Press called the race for Tuberville shortly after 10 p.m. ET.

Tuberville's win unseats Jones who has held the seat since 2018 after winning the race to replace Republican Jeff Sessions when President Trump picked him to be Attorney General in 2017.  

Tuberville made limited public appearances while his campaign focused mostly on social conservative issues — particularly abortion. He finished first in the Republican primary for the Senate seat on March 3 and defeated Sessions in a July 14 runoff. 

Jones campaigned around the state and focused on state issues — specifically, the response to COVID-19 and health care issues. He is already getting speculation as a potential Cabinet pick if Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the White House.

But Tuberville's takeaway means Democrats' chances to win control of the US Senate just got a whole lot weaker.