1st LD: Democrat Doug Jones certified as winner of U.S. Senate election in Alabama

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Democrat Doug Jones was officially certified on Thursday as the winner of the U.S. Senate race held in the southern state of Alabama earlier this month, despite fraud claims by his opponent, Roy Moore.

Jones defeated Moore on Dec. 12 by about 22,000 votes, making him the first Democrat in 25 years to win a Senate seat in deeply-red Alabama.

Moore, whose campaign was dogged by sexual misconduct accusations, including some involving teenage girls decades ago, refused to concede defeat and even filed a lawsuit Wednesday raising claims of election fraud.

But a judge rejected Moore's claims. Alabama election officials also said they found no evidence of voting irregularities. Enditem