Senate Democrat says he’s not worried about losing Alabama seat if he votes against Trump in Senate trial

Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) said he’s not concerned about losing his Alabama seat if he votes against President Trump in the Senate trial. 

Jones told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he plans to fulfill his oath as senator during Trump’s impeachment trial instead of worrying about whether his constituents in a primarily red state will vote him out of office.

{mosads}“If I did everything based on a pure and political argument, all I’d — you’d need is a computer to mash a button,” he said. “It’s just not what this country’s about. It’s not what the founders intended. It’s not what I intend to do.”

The Alabama senator called out the U.S. and the media for putting everything in “political terms” and highlighting “political consequences.”

“This is a much more serious matter than that,” Jones told Martha Raddatz. “This has to do with the future of the presidency and how we want our presidents to conduct themselves. It has all to do with the future of this Senate and how a Senate should handle impeachment, articles of impeachment that come over. That’s how I’m looking at this.”

.@MarthaRaddatz: Some say if you vote to impeach Trump in your deeply red state of Alabama, you basically sign your death warrant.

Sen. Doug Jones says “this is a much more serious matter” that shouldn’t be discussed in terms of “political consequences.” https://t.co/4oxxUovvgW pic.twitter.com/1bLFHLC56V

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 22, 2019

Jones was elected in a close special election in 2017 after Jeff Sessions became attorney general. He was pitted against Republican Roy Moore, who had been accused of sexually assaulting minors. The senator will face an election in 2020 to potentially win a full term.

The Alabama senator voted against appointing Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in 2018, so he could lose his Senate seat in a typically red state if he votes in favor of impeachment.