“Dr. Ford was credible and courageous and I am concerned about the message our vote will be sending to our sons and daughters, as well as victims of sexual assault. I will be voting no," Jones said in a statement. Red-state Democratic Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.) announced Thursday night that he will oppose Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination.“Dr. Ford was credible and courageous and I am concerned about the message our vote will be sending to our sons and daughters, as well as victims of sexual assault. I will be voting no," Jones said in a statement.

He added that the process for Kavanaugh's nomination "has been flawed from the beginning and incomplete at the end."

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Jones's announcement comes hours after Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing him of sexual assault, testified during an emotional, high-stakes Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

In a separate tweet, Jones said he had called for the vote on Kavanaugh to be postponed, disclosure of all of his documents and for the Judiciary Committee to subpoena Mark Judge, Kavanaugh's classmate whom Ford alleges witnessed her assault.



"Dr. Ford was credible & courageous. What message will we send to our daughters & sons, let alone sexual assault victims?" he said, along with the hashtag #Rightsideofhistory.

Jones was one of several red-state Democrats who remained on the fence despite the sexual assault allegations that have thrown Kavanaugh's nomination into limbo.

Jones told reporters as recently as last week that he "officially" remained undecided on Kavanaugh's nomination.

A spokeswoman said on Thursday night that Jones was not able to get a meeting with Kavanaugh, something he has said for weeks that he wanted.

"We made several attempts to schedule a meeting to take place once the first hearings concluded, but were unable to confirm one," Heather Fluit, a spokeswoman for Jones, added.

Republicans don't need Jones's vote to confirm Kavanaugh. They hold a 51-49 margin, meaning they can lose one Republican senator before they need help from Democrats to confirm him.