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Article snippet: It was a distinguished group of lawyers that orchestrated the discreet fund-raiser in Washington in mid-November. Vernon E. Jordan Jr., the counselor to Democratic presidents, and Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general, were listed as hosts on the invitation. Over an assortment of Mexican dishes, in a home not far from the National Cathedral, Senators Kamala Harris of California and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, both former prosecutors, enthused about the prospect of electing another Democrat to the Senate. Beaming in from Alabama to thank his new donors — seated beside his wife, Louise, on a halting video stream — was Doug Jones. For Mr. Jones, the Democratic nominee in a special election for the Senate, the event confirmed his dizzying emergence in national politics. Days earlier, his Republican opponent, Roy S. Moore, had been hit with allegations of child sex abuse that threatened to upend his campaign and give Mr. Jones an unexpected shot at victory. From the outside, Mr. Jones had the look of an accidental contender — someone whose campaign was lifted to prominence by Mr. Moore’s problems like a man who plays the lottery on impulse and wins a record jackpot. But far from a local ingénue thriving on pure luck, Mr. Jones, his friends and colleagues say, spent years preparing to make a leap into elective office, building a web of relationships beyond his deep-red state that helped sustain a seemingly long-shot candidacy through its lean early mont... Link to the full article to read more