WASHINGTON — In response to Tuesday’s election in Alabama, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., took one last jab at Republican Roy Moore and urged Democrat Doug Jones to take the very unlikely step of joining with GOP lawmakers once he gets to Congress.

“Tonight’s results are clear – the people of Alabama deemed Roy Moore unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate,” said Gardner in a statement. “I hope Senator-elect Doug Jones will do the right thing and truly represent Alabama by choosing to vote with the Senate Republican Majority.”

His comment follows a roller coaster few months for Gardner, who chairs the fundraising machine in charge of electing Senate Republicans.

That group, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, opposed Moore in the Alabama GOP primary but got behind him after he defeated incumbent Luther Strange. Following the primary, Gardner said Moore was “imperative to passing a conservative agenda.”

Once allegations about Moore’s past sexual misconduct came out, however, Gardner and the NRSC reversed course and refused to back him. That’s in contrast to President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee, which supported Moore as the race entered its final days.

Gardner took his criticism one step forward and called for Moore’s expulsion if he was elected — though those plans were slow to materialize and ultimately not necessary.