memeorandum: Roy Moore thought attacking the press could save his campaign. Voters opted for the truth. (Margaret Sullivan/Washington Post)

10:40 AM ET, December 13, 2017

Top Items:

Once a Long Shot, Democrat Doug Jones Wins Alabama Senate Race — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Doug Jones, a Democratic former prosecutor who mounted a seemingly quixotic Senate campaign in the face of Republican dominance here, defeated his scandal-scarred opponent, Roy S. Moore …

Washington Post:

Preliminary exit poll results: How different groups voted in the U.S. senator election in Alabama — See how different groups voted in the U.S. senator election in Alabama between Roy Moore and Doug Jones

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Religion News Service, Splinter, AOL, theGrio, Roll Call, Mashable, The Week and Balloon Juice

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

It's not just scandal: Moore lost in Alabama because the GOP agenda is toxically unpopular — Republicans are now in trouble everywhere. — The easy thing for Republicans to tell themselves after the stinging loss of a Senate seat in Alabama is that they only went down to defeat …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Albert R. Hunt / Bloomberg:

Republicans Now Have a Reason to Panic — Democrat Doug Jones won in deeply conservative Alabama. Was it Trump's fault? — Democrats won a special Senate election in deeply conservative Alabama, narrowing the Republicans' slim majority in the chamber, and likely generating political panic and infighting among scared Republicans.

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

Doug Jones's victory scrambles the Republican congressional agenda — Doug Jones's odds-defying victory in Alabama — handing Democrats a vanishingly rare Senate win in the Deep South — scrambles President Trump's legislative agenda for the coming year, threatens to heighten Republican infighting …

Discussion: Politico, Business Insider, New York Times, Balloon Juice and Vox

Alice Stewart / CNN:

Steve Bannon's political science experiment blew up in Trump's face — Alice Stewart is a CNN political commentator and former communications director for Ted Cruz for President. The views expressed in this commentary are solely hers. — (CNN)Voters in The Cotton State listened …

Discussion: Washington Post and Political Wire

Sabato's Crystal Ball:

Blue Stars Fell on Alabama — Jones win another confirmation of Democratic momentum, even taking Moore's horrible candidacy into account — Prior to the Alabama special Senate election on Tuesday night, there was an ongoing discussion in the media about whether the Republicans would lose either way in Alabama.

Discussion: NBC News and Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times

David Byler / Weekly Standard:

Alabama Slamma: Four Takeaways from Roy Moore's Devastating Loss to Doug Jones — That. Just. Happened. — Last night, a Democratic candidate won a Senate seat in deep red Alabama. — Let that sink in. — Alabama is one of the worst places in the country to be a statewide Democratic political candidate.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Washington Post, ThinkProgress, FiveThirtyEight, Business Insider and AOL

New York Times:

Key Takeaways From Doug Jones's Alabama Victory — WASHINGTON — Doug Jones's defeat of Roy S. Moore in Tuesday's bitterly fought special Senate election was one of the most unlikely upsets in recent campaign history. But the Democrats' victory in Alabama carries some more immediate political implications.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and Political Insider

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Trump: ‘I Said Roy Moore Will Not Be Able to Win’ in Alabama — White House aides on Tuesday night were bracing for fallout, in person and on Twitter, from President Trump after the Republican candidate he vigorously backed over his aides' objections lost a Deep South Senate seat to a Democrat.

Discussion: RedState, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, New Republic, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Althouse, Raw Story and The Week

John Nichols / The Nation:

On a Wave of Votes From Selma, and the Civil-Rights Heartlands of Alabama, Doug Jones Sweeps to Victory — An overwhelming surge in votes from African-American counties tipped the balance against Roy Moore. — The moment when the spell was broken again came just a little after 10 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Washington Post, CNN and The Daily Beast

Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Trump suffers ‘big black eye’ in Alabama

Discussion: The Week and ABC News

New York Times:
Alabama Election Results: Doug Jones Defeats Roy Moore in U.S. Senate Race

Discussion: NBC News, Business Insider, IJR, Fox News, Althouse, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Hit & Run, The Daily Signal, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Weekly Standard, Daily Kos, TalkLeft, AOL, Fox News Insider and The Last Refuge

Wall Street Journal:
Alabama Sends a Message

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Times

Kyle Balluck / The Hill:
Trump: I said Roy Moore would not be able to win the general election

Discussion: Breitbart, RedState, Business Insider, Politicus USA, The Right Scoop, Roll Call, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Times and Real Clear Politics

Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Wall Street Journal: Bannon ‘is for losers’

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo and IJR

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Thank Heaven for . . . Alabama?

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Intercept, Hullabaloo, RedState, The Right Scoop, Politicus USA, Business Insider and TheBlaze

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Alabama election: Doug Jones scores stunning win, but Moore won't concede

Discussion: Washington Post, Hit & Run, IJR, New York Times, The Daily Caller, The Hill, KTLA, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Business Insider and CBS Baltimore

New York Times:
Roy Moore Loses, Sanity Reigns

Discussion: Fox News, Shakesville, Business Insider, New York Post, The Guardian, National Review, Informed Comment, WHNT-TV, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, TheBlaze, CBS News and Townhall.com

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Roy Moore thought attacking the press could save his campaign. Voters opted for the truth.

Discussion: Media Matters for America, AOL and Newsweek, more at Mediagazer »

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast:
Stephen Colbert Mocks Roy Moore Over Alabama Senate Loss: ‘Roy Moore Now Has to Eat His Horse’

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Axios and CBS Los Angeles

Adam Kelsey / ABC News:
Doug Jones wins Alabama Senate race in seismic Democratic victory; defiant Roy Moore does not concede

Lukas Mikelionis / Fox News: Bannon's ‘kingmaker’ status tarnished by Moore defeat

Andrew Prokop / Vox:
Steve Bannon's Republican critics are gleefully dunking on him for Roy Moore's shocking loss

Discussion: The Hill, Roll Call, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, VICE News, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and Media Matters for America

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
Democrats are jubilant — and newly confident about 2018 — as Alabama delivers win on Trump's turf

Discussion: VICE, Splinter, Daily Kos, The Guardian and VICE News

Rosie Gray / The Atlantic: The Making of an Upset

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
5 takeaways from Alabama's startling special election

Discussion: National Journal, Axios, Vox and The Week

New York Times:
Video and Full Transcript: Roy Moore, Refusing to Concede, Addresses Supporters on Election Night

Discussion: American Prospect and The Daily Caller

New York Times: Doug Jones: A Lawyer in the Thick of Alabama's Big Moments

Julie Pace / Associated Press:
Analysis: Trump bets on Moore and suffers stinging defeat

Discussion: Washington Post

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

In texts, FBI agents on Russia probe called Trump an ‘idiot’ — Two FBI agents assigned to the investigation into alleged collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia exchanged text messages referring to the future president as an “idiot,” according to copies of messages turned …

Discussion: ABC News, USA Today, CBS News, The Hill, NPR, Sputnik International, The Week, New York Times, RedState, Axios, IJR, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:

In Texts, F.B.I. Officials in Russia Inquiry Said Clinton ‘Just Has to Win’ — WASHINGTON — Senior F.B.I. officials who helped investigate Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign last year told a colleague that Hillary Clinton “just has to win” and described a potential Trump victory as …

Discussion: New York Magazine, AOL and CNN

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:
Text Messages in Hand, Republicans Plan to Accuse Justice Department of Bias

Discussion: The Week, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, IJR and Axios

Samuel Chamberlain / Fox News:
‘F TRUMP’: Texts between ex-Mueller team members emerge, calling Trump ‘loathsome human,’ ‘an idiot’

Discussion: Mediaite, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, The Last Refuge and NewsBusters

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
FBI texts reveal anti-Trump, pro-Clinton comments

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Root and Mediaite

Victor Davis Hanson / National Review: One Mueller-Investigation Coincidence Too Many

USA Today:

Will Trump's lows ever hit rock bottom? — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says President Donald Trump's latest tweet about her was a ‘sexist smear’ aimed at silencing her voice. The New York Democrat says she won't be silenced on the issue of sexual harassment. (Dec. 12) AP

Henry C. Jackson / Politico:
Trump After Dark: Empire Strikes Back edition

Discussion: The Week and Mother Jones

CNN:
Exclusive: Grassley urges Trump to reconsider controversial judicial picks

Discussion: Splinter, Shareblue Media, Townhall.com, Washington Post, Washington Blade, ThinkProgress, Axios and Business Insider

Annie Karni / Politico:
Trump's tweet creates a political opening for Gillibrand

Discussion: Washington Post and The Week

Mike Allen:

Schumer calls cops after forged sex scandal charge — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he was the victim of a fake news hit on Tuesday, and has turned over to Capitol Police a document that purports to detail lurid sexual harassment accusations by a former staffer.

Discussion: Fox News, Betsy's Page, Media Matters for America, Splinter, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, The Week, Raw Story, Mediaite and Politicus USA, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Galli / Christianity Today:

The Biggest Loser in the Alabama Election — No matter the outcome of today's special election in Alabama for a coveted US Senate seat, there is already one loser: Christian faith. When it comes to either matters of life and death or personal commitments of the human heart, no one will believe a word we say, perhaps for a generation.

Discussion: Vox and Raw Story