Republicans have already warned that Jones, who next faces voters in 2020, will create trouble for himself if he sides too frequently with Democrats. In a statement after Jones’s win, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who runs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said that Jones should “do the right thing and truly represent Alabama by choosing to vote with the Senate Republican Majority.”
Jones responded by saying he’d remain an independent voice.
“If we approach 2020 like we approached 2017, I’ll be fine,” Jones said at his post-election news conference. “I’m not going to change.”