Story highlights Media focused on Roy Moore's conservative Christian base in Alabama

But he lost in large part because of another group of "values voters"

(CNN) Going into the Senate race in Alabama, much of the attention was focused on Republican Roy Moore's conservative Christian base. Would they turn out to support him despite the allegations that he molested and harassed teenage girls decades ago?

They did, according to exit polls. Eight in 10 white evangelical voters cast their ballots for Moore, who is himself a white evangelical. That's roughly the same percentage President Donald Trump won among white evangelical voters nationally in 2016.

In the Alabama Senate race , white evangelicals made up 44% of the electorate, a sizable slice that suggests turnout was roughly on par with previous elections.

But Moore lost in large part because another group of "values voters" -- African-American women -- voted overwhelmingly for his opponent, Doug Jones. A whopping 98% of black women voters cast their ballots for Jones, giving the Democrat a huge boost, exit polls show.

Black women, and men for that matter, aren't usually categorized as "values voters" in the media, which usually reserve that term for conservative white Christians. But perhaps it's well past time for that to change.

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