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Democrat Doug Jones wins US Alabama Senate seat

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (KUNA) -- Democrat Doug Jones, a former prosecutor and civil rights activist, won Alabama's Senate race on Tuesday, defeating his rival Republican Roy Moore.
He will fill the vacancy left by Republican Jeff Sessions who now serves as US Attorney General.
This is the first time a Democrat has won the Senate in the deeply Republican state in 25 years.
"We have come so far and the people of Alabama have spoken," said Jones during a victory speech in the southeastern state's largest city of Birmingham, late Tuesday.
This win cuts the conservative party's majority in the Senate from 52 to 51, which will make it harder for Republicans to move forward with their legislative agenda.
In a tweet, Republican president Donald Trump congratulated Doug Jones "on a hard fought victory where the write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win," Trump said.
"The people of Alabama are great and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!, the US President's tweet read.
With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Jones defeated Moore 49.9 to 48.4 percent. (end) ak.nam