There will be a lot of hot takes in Alabama which is not suddenly a Democrat state. But there is one take that is inescapable and undeniable after a contentious election: Trump only works for Trump.

The Roy Moore campaign was confronted with credible allegations that the aspiring senator had molested a 14-year-old and dated teenagers while in his thirties. He all but admitted to the latter and admitted to knowing at least one of the accusers. Then he denied it all and denied knowing any of the accusers. The campaign then doubled down on attacking the press in the mode of Donald Trump.

In fact, after the allegations were made public, the Moore campaign decided to model itself on the Trump campaign. They shut out reporters from events. They berated and bullied the press. They changed their stories in a game of Three-card Monte, shuffling facts before our eyes.

That worked with Donald Trump. He could do that. But Roy Moore is no Donald Trump.

Roy Moore failed to persuade enough voters that the allegations against him were bunk. In fact, there is a real lesson to be learned here. Credible allegations must be treated credibly.

Ultimately, Roy Moore failed to persuade enough voters that the allegations against him were bunk. In fact, there is a real lesson to be learned here. Credible allegations must be treated credibly. The Moore team dithered for days before responding, changed their story several times, and then behaved like Donald Trump. It was unpersuasive.

Make no mistake about it, had Roy Moore never faced these allegations and if Roy Moore had faced these allegations with a serious, credible response, he would have won. But he chose a third option by delaying a response then handling it farcically.

Now a Democrat will represent Alabama in the Senate.