Republican Roy Moore refused to conceded the special election race after news networks called the race for Democrat Doug Jones, saying the race is “not over” and that God is on his side.
Mr. Moore and his campaign said the margin of Mr. Jones’ lead is likely to trigger a recount under state law because could end up being less than half a percentage point.
“When the vote is this close, it is not over,” Mr. Moore told his supporters at his election night rally. “We also know that God is always in control.”
Mr. Moore delivered the comments shortly after Mr. Jones declared victory.
With 99 percent of the precincts counted, Mr. Jones held a 49.9 percent to 48.4 percent lead over Mr. Moore, while 1.7 percent of voters supported write-in candidates.
Bill Armistead, Mr. Moore’s campaign manager, also said the race is not over.
“We do not have a final decision on the outcome tonight and we know that God is still in control and we are going to give him the credit for how this turns out because he has been with us every step of the way and we continue to honor him in this campaign, and we honor you for being here tonight and showing your support for Judge Moore,” Mr. Armistead said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.