This time, Donald Trump s playbook didnt work.

Republican Roy Moore faced serious accusations of sexual misconduct in his bid to become Alabamas next senator. But instead of bowing down and backing out, he stayed in the race and went on the attack just like Trump did in last years presidential race. He accused the media and the establishment of orchestrating a conspiracy against him, and cast the race as pitting good against evil, Christians versus everyone else.

Both Trump and Moore bet that their conservative base would stick by them and push them to victory.

But on Tuesday, Alabama sent a message that this time it wouldnt work, not even in a conservative state that Trump won by 28 percentage points in 2016.

Voters instead elected Doug Jones, making him the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate seat in the state in 25 years. The Associated Press called the race for Jones 2 hours after polls closed in the state.

We have shown the country the way that we can be unified, an ecstatic Jones said in his victory speech Tuesday night.

When Jeff Sessions stepped down as senator nine months ago to become Trumps attorney general, it was considered a sure bet that the seat would remain in GOP control.

But then Moore came along, defeating the establishment choice in the Republican primary and giving Democrats a glimmer of hope that they could win or at least do better than they thought possible in Alabama.

Some Moore supporters were in disbelief Tuesday night.

Willie Casey, 70, a Republican from Birmingham who was standing outside the Moore watch party, said there has to be a recount.

It was tight. Im disappointed, he told HuffPost. I think [Sen. Richard] Shelby coming out against him made a huge difference, but I also think the whole thing is suspicious.

Moore himself refused to concede as well. Speaking to supporters at his election night party, Moore suggested the possibility of demanding a recount, saying, God is still in control.

The controversial Moore, 70, had long been known for his conservative religious beliefs , opposing equal rights for Muslims and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. And though he won statewide races for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, his vote counts underperformed compared with other Republicans on the ballot.

Then in November, The Washington Post published an article in which four women accused Moore of pursuing them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. One of them said she was 14 when he sexually assaulted her.

After that story came out, more women came forward with similar stories about Moore.

Even after the bombshell allegations, Democrats were skeptical Jones, 63, could win. It was still Alabama, a state that Republicans dominate. But the Jones campaign set about focusing on three goals : 1) expand the Democratic electorate, especially by getting more African-American voters to turn out; 2) persuade some Republicans disgusted by Moore to vote for Jones; 3) hope other Republicans would simply stay home.

National Democrats tried to help out by staying quiet. Associating with the party wouldnt help Jones, who was trying to emphasize that he would work across the aisle and not be beholden to people like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Democrats also got lucky with Jones, who had a strong biography (he was a U.S. attorney who prosecuted Ku Klux Klan members for a 1963 church bombing that killed four African-American girls) and made few major missteps during the campaign.

While Republicans are no doubt unhappy to lose a Senate seat, there are also some sighs of relief. Theres a solid case to be made that theyll be able to win it back during the regular election in 2020, if they have a more traditional candidate. And now, they wont have to constantly be on the defensive about being a party that harbors an accused child molester.

They will still, however, have to contend with being the party that has a man accused of sexual misconduct by 19 women sitting in the White House.