NASHVILLE - U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told reporters today he is "really, really happy" with Democrat Doug Jones' upset victory over controversial Republican Roy Moore in Alabama's U.S. Senate election on Tuesday.
Noting he had previously said Moore was a "bridge too far," the Chattanooga Republican told reporters in Washington that "I know we're supposed to cheer for our side of the aisle, if you will, but I'm really, really happy with what happened for all of us in our nation, for people serving in the Senate, to not have to deal with what we were likely going to have to deal with should the outcome have been the other way."
Jones, a former U.S. attorney, became the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate election in Alabama in 25 years with a narrow margin following weeks of controversy after a number of Alabama women stepped up publicly to say a much older Moore dated or inappropriately touched them decades ago when they were teens.
"I thought before any of this reporting came out over the last couple of months with the Republican nominee that he was a bridge too far, just with his positions, the things that happened while he was on the bench," Corker said.
Corker, who announced earlier this year he wouldn't seek re-election and has repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump who eventually endorsed Moore, said he reached out to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who previously announced he would not vote for Moore, "to let him know how proud I am of his state and what he did."