The US Senator in red state Alabama is Doug Jones….
Democrats need Jones seat…
(*They also need Elizabeth Warren’s US Senate seat)
Republicans have no one to run against Jones yet…
It’s 6 months out from election day…
But Jones has had little out reach from national Democrats…
There’s a glaring omission as Democrats lay down millions of dollars to try and win control of the Senate: Democratic Alabama Sen. Doug Jones.
The two leading Senate Democratic campaign groups reserved nearly $100 million for the fall in half a dozen states with Republican incumbents. But so far they have put down nothing to protect their most vulnerable incumbent and aren’t yet formally committing to spend big dollars for him.
Jones said the cavalry will come eventually.
“I don’t think they have to do that right now. I don’t even have an opponent yet. I don’t think that they’re going to leave us out at all,” Jones said in an interview. “We feel very good about where we are in this race. There’s no question about that.”
Jones faces perhaps the most difficult Senate reelection fight in the country, and it’s reflected by Democrats’ caution at going all in. The party has dumped money into tough races in red states in recent years only to see their candidates and incumbents get blown out from Louisiana to Arkansas to Tennessee, but has also won tough races in Montana and West Virginia.
For now, there are mitigating factors that help explain Democrats’ hesitation. The GOP does not yet have a nominee to face Jones. And because Alabama is not a presidential battleground, Democrats will be able to buy ads there later at a more affordable price than states like North Carolina and Colorado.
Moreover, Jones is sitting on $8 million, more than 10 times the war chest of either former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions or former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville as they slug it out for the GOP nomination. Their runoff, initially scheduled for March 31, was delayed until July because of worries over coronavirus.
If Jones were to win reelection this fall it would dramatically ease Democrats’ pathway back to the majority. If Jones loses, they need to pick up at least four seats elsewhere….
* Which is why I think this is one of the many reasons Joe Biden is NOT gonna to pick the US Senator from Mass., which has a Republican Gov., who will NOT pick a Democratic to replace Warren…
image …Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call