Poll says Democrat Doug Jones nearly tied with GOP candidates in Ala. Senate race

According to a new poll, Democrat Doug Jones has the potential to pull an upset in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race in December.

On Dec. 12,  Jones will face-off against a Republican challenger — either current, interim Sen. Luther Strange or former Ala. Chief Justice Roy Moore, which will be determined in a run-off Sept. 26 — where, according to the new poll from Emerson College, he’s with striking distance.

The poll finds Jones trailing both Republicans by only a handful of points — Moore leads Jones by four percentage points, meanwhile Strange leads him by only three points.

While the results make the race a statistical dead heat, the Yellowhammer State has traditionally been one of the reddest of red states. The last time the state voted for a Democrat for president was back 1976, and the last time it voted a Democrat to the Senate was twenty years ago, in 1997.

Nevertheless, according to the poll, the constant-GOP infighting between Strange and Luther has put a bad taste in many voter’s mouths.

“The GOP will need to find a way to unite during the 11 weeks until the General Election, or face the prospect of Jones pulling off an upset,” reads the poll.

Which begs the question — can the GOP unify behind the run-off victor? Or will there be a Jones upset? Only time will tell.