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Roy Moore refuses to admit he lost

Republican Roy Moore refused to concede the Alabama election Tuesday night, even as the press and the president called it for his Democratic opponent, Doug Jones.

Republican Roy Moore refused to concede the Alabama election Tuesday night, even as the press and the president called it for his Democratic opponent, Doug Jones.

In a short speech late Tuesday evening, Moore incorrectly suggested that a recount would be required to properly call the election.

“When a vote is this close, it’s not over. And we’ve still got to go by the rules about this recount provision and the secretary of state has explained it to us, and we’re expecting that the press will go up there and talk to them to find out what the situation is,” he said.

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In Alabama, where 99 percent of the votes have already been reported with only a few thousand left, recounts are only automatically triggered when the results are within .05 points. Jones is currently projected by the AP at a more than 1.5 percent margin of victory.

It’s “highly unlikely” the outcome of the election will change, Alabama secretary of state John Merrill told CNN moments later.

Still, Moore confidently promised his gathered supporters the race wasn’t over, saying, “At this point we still don’t have a final decision tonight.”

“We also know that God is in control. Part of the problem with this campaign is we’ve been painted in an unfavorable and unfaithful light,” added the politician, who has been accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl and harassing countless others, before quoting scripture.