WASHINGTON — With less than a month until Alabama’s special election for U.S. Senate, political experts say national Democrats are deploying a unique strategy to support their nominee, Doug Jones: They are staying away.

“I don’t have a sense at all that the DNC (Democratic National Committee) is anywhere in this state," said Derryn Moten, chairman of the Department of History and Political Science at Alabama State University. “They don’t want to damage or do anything that might damage Jones’ chance to win that Senate seat," he said. The party "doesn’t want to do anything that would be an albatross around Jones’ neck."

Jones, a former U.S. attorney, will face off against Roy Moore, a former chief justice, in a Dec. 12 special election for the seat ex-senator Jeff Sessions gave up to become President Trump's attorney general. Moore beat Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill the seat after Sessions's departure, in a Republican primary in September, even though Trump supported Strange.

With Democratic election victories in Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, attention has focused on the competitive race in Alabama. Democrats say the race is critical to helping take back the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans.

But national Democrats are trying to figure out the best way to help Jones without hurting his campaign, said Nathan Gonzales, editor of the nonpartisan Inside Elections, which tracks campaigns nationwide.

“If they spend money on television ads in a big way, that will attract Republicans to spend big money and then it becomes a national race about 'do you like Republicans or do you like Democrats?’ " he said. “And Republicans are going to win that race in Alabama."

Both Jones and Moore have lobbied for support of lawmakers and political groups in Washington.

Moore, who has touted himself as anti-establishment, was in Washington last week where he spoke briefly to Republican senators at their weekly policy lunch in the U.S. Capitol. Moore has publicly railed against Republican leaders, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Still, several GOP senators and the Republican National Committee have lent their support.

But Moten said support from the national party could create more backlash for Jones than Moore.

“It hurts Jones more because he’s trying to be middle of the road or is trying his best to be a centrist," said Moten. "If Cory Booker and Doug Jones end up on a stage together somewhere in rural Alabama I think that’s going to be a tough day for Doug Jones." Booker, a liberal senator from New Jersey, is a rising star in the Democratic Party.

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Jones rallies for support from Democrats, black congressional lawmakers

Roy Moore makes nice with Senate Republicans he railed against in campaign

Jones picks up support of the Congressional Black Caucus' political action committee

Alabama Republicans said they're not surprised Democrats are lying low.

"If national Democrats insert themselves in Alabama in this race it will be a big reminder of their extremely left wing platform," Terry Lathan, chairwoman of the Alabama Republican Party, said in a statement. "We are one of the 'reddest' states in the nation and having a reminder of a liberal national Democrat embracing their liberal Senate nominee would not go well for them."

Jones, who has campaigned across the state, has also traveled to Washington for support.

In September, Jones joined Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat from Alabama, at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual legislative conference in Washington, where he met with some members of the Congressional Black Caucus and others.

Nearly all of the caucus members are Democrats.

On Monday, the political action committee of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Jones and said it will send the maximum contribution of $5,000 to his campaign this week.

“We think that is important when you look at his record compared to his opponent’s record," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus' PAC.

Meeks said he's feeling confident about Jones's chances, particularly since some polls show a close race.

"The fact that we’re talking about Sessions’ old seat that had not been competitive at all — that’s a victory as far as I’m concerned,'' he said.

Jones has also met with officials from the DNC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The DSCC won’t say how much or if it’s spending money in the race or whether it is deploying workers to Alabama.

The committee works with Democratic senatorial candidates across the country.

“This is a competitive race because the Jones campaign is making a clear and compelling case not only against Roy Moore, but for Doug," said David Bergstein, a spokesman for the DSCC. "And they're pointing out at every opportunity that Doug is the only candidate who can bring both sides together to solve problems for the working families in his state."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was noncommittal when asked whether victories in Tuesday's elections would encourage Democrats to go “all-in” to try to defeat Moore.

“We’re just watching the race closely,” the New York Democrat told reporters in Washington.

Lathan said Democrats face an uphill battle in Alabama, which Trump won last year and where he has visited five times since 2015.

"No Democrat strategy can turn back the deep conservative roots in our state,'' she said. "That is hard for them to overcome."

While political experts have said they expect the seat to remain in Republican hands, the battle between Moore and Jones is much more competitive than if Strange was in the race.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the race from “Solid Republican’’ before the Republican primary to “Leaning Republican" more recently. Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Alabama by a 2-1 margin, but recent polls in the Senate race show Moore leading by single digits.

Inside Elections rates the race as “Likely Republican.”

“Democrats are having to strike a balance between boosting turnout, particularly among the African American population, without losing too much support among white voters," said Gonzales of Inside Elections. “Doug Jones has to both excite black voters and get enough white voters to cross over to win the election. I don’t think he can win with only one part of that formula."

The Congressional Black Caucus’ PAC doesn’t plan to campaign for Jones in Alabama, but some CBC members may help with get-out-the-vote efforts.

Meeks said caucus members will follow the lead of Sewell and state Democrats and only come if they are asked.

"We want to make sure that the people of Alabama are leading this," he said. "This is not coming from outside of Alabama."

Meeks said the focus should be on Alabama. “It’s about local issues, not national issues,” he said.

The Jones campaign, meanwhile, isn’t touting any national support.

“This race is about the people of Alabama and issues important to them," Sebastian Kitchen, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement. “We are receiving support from all corners of Alabama from Democrats, Republicans and independents."

Contributing: Herbert Jackson