Paul Singer

USA TODAY

Doug Jones turned the political world on its head Tuesday night, winning a Senate seat for Democrats in Alabama, a state that hadn't elected a Democratic senator in 25 years.

Here are a few key takeaways from his win over firebrand conservative Roy Moore:

Write-ins matter

Some prominent Republicans, including Alabama's Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, suggested it was better to write in somebody else than to vote for Moore, who was tainted by allegations he had romantically pursued and sexually assaulted girls in their teens when he was in his 30s.

Tuesday night, the Alabama secretary of state tallied 22,780 votes for write-in candidates, though many of those may ultimately be discarded because they were not cast far an actual registered candidate. Jones beat Moore by fewer than 21,000 votes. You do the math.

As a point of comparison, in 2016, Shelby won his re-election 64%-36% over a Democratic challenger, and there were fewer than 4,000 write-in ballots. And that was in a presidential year, so there were many more voters participating in the election (about 2.1 million versus the 1.3 million votes cast Tuesday night.)

How much do Democrats stall?

With Jones replacing Republican Sen. Luther Strange in the Senate, Republicans go from controlling 52 seats to controlling 51, in a chamber that requires 50 votes to get anything done. Republicans are racing to get a massive tax cut passed before Christmas, and their majority has already been wobbly, with several Republican senators hinting they may not vote for the bill.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said on CNN Tuesday night he expects to certify the election results the last week of December; at the latest, the first week of January. So for Democrats and their leader Chuck Schumer of New York, the question now becomes: Can they stall a final vote on the tax bill long enough for Jones to arrive and convert one critical "yes" vote into a "no"? Stay tuned.

Black votes matter

The Democrats owe gratitude to the black voters who showed up and voted for Jones. Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report noted on Twitter Tuesday that turnout in heavily black counties was at three-fourths of what it was in the 2016 election. Wasserman also noted that white voters in rural white counties were turning at just over half of the rate they did for the 2016 election. Those numbers are unusual given off-year election turn-out tends to lean Republicans.

More: Twitter thanks #BlackWomen for voting for Democrat Doug Jones

And when they showed up they voted for Jones, the Washington Post’s exit polls found that 96% of black voters backed Jones.

This is also a victory for Rep. Terri Sewell, the state's lone Democratic House member, who organized a caravan of black leaders to come to Alabama to stump for Jones. It evidently paid off.

Journalism matters

Whether or not you believe the allegations against Moore, there is no doubt at all they had a dramatic impact on the election. Not a single public poll showed Jones leading Moore prior to the Washington Post's explosive story quoting Moore's accusers on the record Nov. 9.

In the days afterward there were more accusers, more stories of bad behavior by Moore and calls from senior Republicans for Moore to step aside. The news story fundamentally changed the race.

The Real Donald Trump

Late Tuesday, President Trump tweeted a subdued, congratulatory message to Jones, making note of the Democrat's "hard fought victory."

When it appeared, everyone in our newsroom had the same questions: Who wrote that tweet? It certainly didn't sound like Donald Trump. Was he suddenly turning over a new, more mannerly, leaf?

Wednesday morning the old Donald Trump re-emerged, claiming he was right all along. Moore had never been his preferred candidate because he was too controversial. "I was right!"

Now THAT is the @realDonaldTrump.

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Contributing: Eliza Collins