Senator Doug Jones and his wife Louise take the stage in Birmingham at a victory party to thank supporters, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018 (more photos below): Glynn Wilson

By Glynn Wilson –

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — His history changing campaign for the United States Senate was a state and national “turning point” and a “watershed,” Senator Doug Jones said to a packed house of supporters on Southside Sunday who came out to celebrate his victory with hot dogs, barbecue and beer.

“We were on the right side of history in 2017 and we’re going to stay on the right side of history,” he said to a raucous round of clapping, cheers and fists pumping the air.

“Let’s not let this movement stop,” he said. “Alabama’s best days are ahead of us. But we can only do that if we stay engaged in 2018.”

Senator Doug Jones greets a young supporter at a victory party in Birmingham, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018: Glynn Wilson

He said it has been a “whirlwind” since last May when he decided to run for office. Then, after being sworn in, he had to vote “on whether to shut the government down.”

“Everything about this campaign has truly been remarkable,” Jones said, from the door to door canvassing, the phone banks, the yard signs, social media, etc. “We did something in Alabama that hasn’t been done in at least one generation, maybe two.”

He said after the federal government was shut down for one weekend, Republicans and Democrats got together and came up with a deal to fund the CHIP program for 10 years, found the funding for community health centers, and passed a long term budget resolution that was years in the making.

“We were able to work through that and I’m proud to say we’ve gotten some things done,” he said. “I’m going to tell you something, Alabama. People are taking notice of what’s happened here in this state. What they are taking notice of is not just blue and red. What they are taking notice of is civility, respect, reaching across the aisle, making sure we do something good for people. But it took one election in the state of Alabama to make it happen.”

The one big disappointment he’s had is the failure of a bipartisan deal to create a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers and provide some border security to placate the president and some Republicans in Congress.

“At the last minute the White House torpedoed that,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but that went down along with some other things. But I will say this. We are not giving up on DACA or the Dreamers. An overwhelming number of Americans support that. That’s why it’s going to get done.”

This week on a Congressional break he toured the state from Mobile and Selma to Centerville and Birmingham, from Muscle Shoals to Huntsville.

“I’ve got to tell you, folks, that if anyone thinks it’s just a coincidence that Doug Jones gets elected and Toyota-Mazda comes, sell them some beachfront property in Kansas, OK,” he said. “That was no coincidence because we said it all along, Alabama put it’s best foot forward. It was not Doug Jones. It was a rejection of the divisiveness of the past.”

Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore pulls out a gun at a campaign rally in Fairhope on Monday, Sept. 25: Facebook

He apologized for wearing a black vest on stage, but joked that he would not be wearing a cowboy hat or pull out a gun, a swipe at former Judge Roy Moore, his Republican opponent last year.

“Hopefully we have seen the last of that in Alabama,” he said to more cheers and applause.

“But we still have a lot of work to do to keep this movement going,” he said. “Let’s not just sit back and pat ourselves on the back for this amazing thing we accomplished last December. Let’s use that as the incentive to go forward.”

He said the year before, with the presidential election of Donald Trump, that was the incentive that got people involved. Then the women’s march in Washington came along and got people fired up and spread across the country.

“The women’s march in Birmingham was really the impetus for our campaign,” he said. “We’ve seen that movement grow to the #MeToo moment and the tipping point in America where women can stand up and speak out and not be afraid.

“If we can continue and make sure we have dialogues and not monologues, if we continue to talk to each other and not at each other, and not let our emotions on either side of the issue get to us, but maintain our calm to try to move forward,” he said, “we can let the kids of Parkland, Florida, have the next tipping point.”

There is so much that can be done, he indicated, but it’s not just up to 100 Senators and 435 House members.

“Every great thing that has been done in this country started with you,” he said. “It started with a peoples’ movement.”

That includes a 40 hour work week, social security, Medicare and Medicaid, you name it.

“It all started on the streets because all politics is local,” he said. “We’ve got to continue that.”

Sure, everyone’s help is needed to get him reelected in 2020, he said, but he encouraged everyone to become involved in the elections of 2018. He said there is hope to get the state off the bottom of the national list in infant mortality, obesity, diabetes, and other health care and women’s reproductive rights issues.

“Just remember,” he said, paraphrasing a University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban when he came to the state and won the first national championship in 2009: “This is not the end. It’s the beginning. Let’s keep it going.”

More Photos

Senator Doug Jones greets a young supporter at a victory party in Birmingham, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018: Glynn Wilson

Senator Doug Jones and his wife Louise pose for pictures with supporters in Birmingham at a victory party on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018: Glynn Wilson