Senator Doug Jones’ (D-AL) partisan pledge to back whomever the Democrats nominate against President Donald Trump in 2020 is already manifesting itself as a major political – and policy – blunder by the incumbent from Mountain Brook as Jones seeks re-election of his own.
Hours after the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) erected an Alabama billboard tying Jones to far-left “socialist” healthcare plans, a new video ad was released challenging Jones to answer whether he agrees with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), two leading contenders for the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nomination, when they said during a CNN town hall Monday evening that the Boston Marathon Bomber and all other U.S. citizens currently serving domestic prison sentences should be allowed to vote.
Watch:
Does @DougJones agree with @BernieSanders and @KamalaHarris that the Boston Bomber–who killed 3 people and injured 280 more in a horrific terrorist attack–should be able to vote while he’s in prison?
Do the people of Alabama? #CNNTownHall #ALsen #ALpolitics pic.twitter.com/Ovz2R6IaqU
— The Senate Majority (@NRSC) April 23, 2019
This is not the only radical policy issue that Jones has tacitly promised to support with his blanket presidential pledge, nor could it be the last.
.@DougJones has committed to support *whoever* Democrats nominate in 2020
Tonight Democrat candidates have spoken in support of the #GreenNewDeal, eliminating private insurance, impeaching @RealDonaldTrump, raising taxes, and banning frozen pizza#ALsen #ALpolitics #CNNTownhall pic.twitter.com/N6B2ZyOqJg
— The Senate Majority (@NRSC) April 23, 2019
Expect to see Republicans continue to tie Jones to national Democratic ideas that the clear majority of Alabamians disagree with. In 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton 62.9 percent to 34.6 percent, which was a difference of almost 600,000 votes.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn