The Democratic National Committee’s work in Alabama to support Doug Jones included over 1.3 million phone calls, 1 million text messages to voters and volunteers, and 325,000 door knocks. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images DNC waged stealth organizing campaign for Jones

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With the spotlight squarely on Roy Moore in the closing weeks of Alabama's Senate special election, a constellation of Democratic groups embarked on an under-the-radar effort to organize voters for candidate Doug Jones.

Despite publicly remaining mum on the race, the Democratic National Committee spent nearly $1 million on the contest while dispatching and funding 30 aides here, a party official told POLITICO. That push came just as Jones sought to distance himself from the national party and win over conservatives.


It was a politically delicate move. Jones’ detractors have tried painting him as a tool of the national party, so Democrats in Washington have tried treading carefully in order to avoid leaving too much of a footprint in a state where Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat in over two decades. The effort paid off: Jones prevailed Tuesday.

But the DNC and other national Democrats have also come under fire from critics this year for their perceived lack of involvement in other special elections, so the committee has been eager to chip in.

Morning Score newsletter Your guide to the permanent campaign — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

That effort, largely focused on black, faith, and youth outreach, came as other groups chipped in, as well.

Liberal behemoth MoveOn.org sent over $250,000 to Jones’ campaign while its members sent 93,000 text messages for the candidate, the organization said. Democratic super PAC American Bridge funded ads including one encouraging persuadable conservatives to vote for University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, in an effort to drag down Moore’s support.

BlackPAC disclosed spending over $450,000 in the final month to turn out African-American voters, while Collective PAC pushed those Alabamians to the polls on Tuesday with radio ads featuring celebrities Spike Lee and Jennifer Lewis.

While the race was closer than any other high-profile statewide race here in years, due largely to Moore’s controversial nature even before accusations of child molestation surfaced, the influx of outside support from Democrats gave Jones a much more professional organizing operation than other Democrats who've recently run statewide.

The DNC’s work in Alabama included over 1.3 million phone calls, 1 million text messages to voters and volunteers, and 325,000 door knocks, according to the official. In addition to distributing a mailer focused on voting rights, the national committee’s forces also organized vans to deliver college students to voter registration offices and then to the polls.

Jones has also relied on significant help from Rep. Terri Sewell, the only Democrat in Alabama’s congressional delegation. She has helped the candidate’s efforts both in the state and with black party officials back in Washington and brought New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick into the state in the final weekend.