Doug Jones is the Senate’s most vulnerable incumbent. So it’s no wonder he’s refrained from taking a definitive stance on impeachment.
Jones told ABC News over the weekend that if the “dots aren’t connected” during the Senate’s impeachment trial, he might vote to acquit President Trump.
“I think these are really serious allegations,” Jones said. “I have been trying to see if the dots get connected. If that is the case, then I think it’s a serious matter, and I think it’s an impeachable matter. But if those dots aren’t connected and there are other explanations that are consistent with innocence, I will go that way too.”
The Republican-controlled Senate will almost certainly vote to acquit Trump with or without Jones’s vote, so it wouldn’t make that much of a difference to the Democratic Party if Jones does decide to defect. It could, however, make a big difference to Jones’s constituency in bright red Alabama.
Jones won the election in Alabama in part because the Republican candidate was completely unelectable. He won’t have that luxury again. And keep in mind that this is a state Trump won in 2016 by nearly 30 points. Already, Jones’s approval ratings in his state are lagging, but not by much.
To his credit, Jones seems remarkably unconcerned about his precarious political position.
“Anybody that opposes me, their overriding concern is going to be simply Donald Trump. Whatever he wants, they’re going to say, ‘How high do you want me to jump, sir?’” he said in October when the House was conducting its impeachment investigations. “If somebody wants to base their decision on one or two votes, so be it. But if they want somebody that’s got their back, then I’m going to be that candidate more than any of the others in this field.”
Even though Alabama is Republican through and through, it won’t be easy for the GOP to win back Jones’s seat. The party is dealing with a crowded primary field that’s proving difficult to sift through. A vote to convict Trump could be exactly what the GOP needs to seal Jones’s fate. But a vote against impeachment could make it that much harder.
Jones knows that, but as of right now, he’s betting that his chances at reelection are just as good as they’ll ever be, whether he votes against impeachment or not. He has nothing to lose.
“When I win in 2020, I’ll be the most vulnerable Democrat in 2026. That’s just the way it is,” he said. “Alabama is not going to change that quickly, and it may never change to a point where a Democrat is seen other than as an underdog. And that’s fine.”
