Doug Jones Trails Jeff Sessions In Polls As Uncertain Impeachment Vote Looms

New polling data reveals Alabama Senator Doug Jones is down against multiple republican opponents in his 2020 re-election bid, specifically former Trump AG Jeff Sessions. Jones won his seat in 2017 in a tight and contentious race against republican Roy Moore, who was dogged by allegations of sexual abuse during the campaign.

Sessions, who vacated the seat to serve in the Trump Administration and announced he will run to re-take his old seat, leads Jones 46 to 41 in the latest polls. His continued support of Trump, despite their personal history, will undoubtedly play as a strength in Alabama.

Jones, a democrat in one of the most conservative regions of the country, has always had a tough road ahead of him in his re-election, and now faces an especially difficult decision in his vote to impeach President Trump.

He has signaled that he may be one of a handful of democrats to break with the party in their pursuit of impeachment and subsequent removal. "I'm trying to see if the dots get connected. If that is the case, then I think it's a serious matter. I think it's an impeachable matter," Jones told ABC’s This Week. "But if these dots aren't connected and there are other explanations that I think are consistent with innocence, I will go that way too.”

Many are speculating that Jones’ continued vulnerability as a democrat in one of the reddest states in the country, an area deeply supportive of President Trump, is swaying his decision. Other more conservative democrats who have voted against impeachment include Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson and New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a freshman House member who has officially switched parties amid his decision.

With the Senate impeachment trial, if Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could come to terms over rules, it remains to be seen how much this tight polling will influence his decision.