Doug Jones Releases First TV Ad In Alabama Senate Race

"Washington's broken."

Doug Jones, the Democratic candidate for an Alabama Senate seat, released his first TV ad on Monday, pitching himself as an independent voice who can bring some positive change to a dysfunctional Washington.

“I’m running for the U.S. Senate because our leaders have lost sight of what it means to serve,” Jones says in the spot, which is running statewide. “Continuing to divide us won’t make a positive difference in people’s lives.”

Jones never mentions Roy Moore in the ad, but the spot is clearly a subtle dig at his Republican opponent, who is known for divisive actions and rhetoric.

As chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Moore told state probate judges to ignore the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling declaring marriage equality the law of the land. He recently referred to people of color as “reds and yellows” and once said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) should not be able to serve in Congress because he’s Muslim.

Jones recently told HuffPost that his campaign is going to stress what he called “kitchen table issues” like education, jobs and health care. But he also said he intends to point out how polarizing Moore is ― and remind voters that his opponent was twice removed from office for ignoring the rule of law.

“It’s one thing to just talk about issues,” Jones said, “and it’s another to actually have a record of getting things done, as opposed to simply following a personal agenda.”

As a U.S. attorney in 2002, Jones was the lead prosecutor in the case against two of the men responsible for bombing the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sept. 15, 1963.

Moore recently won the GOP primary against Sen. Luther Strange (R), who was backed by both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and President Donald Trump. The general election to fill the seat ― which Jeff Sessions left to become attorney general ― is set for Dec. 12.

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