Democratic Senate Candidate Doug Jones talks Roy Moore, Campaign Issues and Abortion

Doug Jones finds himself in a position an Alabama Democrat has not been in for a generation. He has a reasonable chance of being elected to the U.S. Senate. Jones faces Republican Roy Moore December 12th in a race to fill the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Moore faces multiple allegations of sexual misconduct toward teenage girls and young women when he was in his 30s. Jones talked about that, and other issues, with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager.

WBHM has extended multiple invitations to Republican Roy Moore for an interview. His campaign has not responded.

Listen to the full interview with Jones

Interview Highlights

On Roy Moore’s response to sexual misconduct allegations:

“I was hoping that we would see a little bit more. Obviously…answering the allegations has just been a flat denial and that’s his prerogative…Like so many people around the country including fellow Republicans from one end of the country to the other, the credibility of the allegations and the statements of these women in Etowah County seem to have a lot more credibility than denials that he’s made or denials made by his handlers.

“We’re staying in our lane as best we can…It’s somewhat of a distraction for us having to deal with it because that’s all that seems like the media wants to talk about. And I think that’s really unfortunate for the people of the state of Alabama who really have issues about jobs and healthcare and those kind of things.”

On the Affordable Care Act, which Jones says needs improvement, not to be repealed:

“The Affordable Care Act was never supposed to be the end of the discussion on healthcare. It was a monumental first step, but it was always going to be a work in progress…One thing that I think could be a very important option and that is a public option for health insurance. I think if you had a public option, and I’m not talking about universal, Medicare-for-all, but I’m talking about an option that would let people buy in to a government sponsored option plan. I think that would help stabilize the markets. It could be affordable. It would be a Medicare-type plan which everybody recognizes is one of the best healthcare plans that’s out there right now.”

On whether his support for a “living wage” means a $15-an-hour minimum wage:

“My gut reaction tells me that’s a little high. And it may be we do something for a minimum wage that may not be across the board because there are differences among the states and different regions where the cost of living is more and the cost of business is more. So we might can use a couple of different tiers. But we’ve got to be careful that, in Alabama, we don’t get stuck in just the absolute bottom…I would seem to me that trying to raise minimum wage to at least around $10 an hour, at least boost it. And I think you can do that and still not sacrifice businesses.”

On his support for abortion rights:

“I believe that [abortion] is an intensely, intensely personal decision. I think anything involving a pregnancy like that has got to be a decision made between a woman and her family, her partner, her husband, her significant other, whatever, and her faith and her physician. And for decades the law has supported that. And I think by and large the people of Alabama support that. But having said that, there has also been for decades limits on late-term procedures. And those are only reserved for cases of medical necessity. And despite what everybody has said, that’s what I support and I continue to support that.”

On voters who don’t support Republican Roy Moore, but find Jones’ support for abortion rights troubling:

“I tell them I respect their decision…Let’s try to find some common ground on other issues that relate to that…First of all, nobody’s for those procedures..Let’s try to find a way to reduce the number of women who have to make those choices. And let’s talk about access to contraception, and healthcare and women’s health and prenatal health and postnatal health…And let’s talk about adoption. Let’s try to streamline adoption and make it where adoptions can be more affordable.”