A conservative Democrat dished out some advice to his newly elected colleague Doug Jones from Alabama: Work for your state, not necessarily your party.
"My advice to Doug Jones is this: You be an Alabama Democrat; you do what is good for Alabama," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., told CNN's "The Situation Room." "So if there's things that you're working on with [Alabama GOP Sen.] Richard Shelby, and it's a Republican idea, and a Republican idea that helps Alabama, you should be for it 1,000 percent.
"If it doesn't make sense, and you can't explain it, don't be for it. Don't worry about the Washington Democrats. Your state where you came from. He knows where he's from. I think he's going to be great. He understands, he's grounded, and he will come here with a lot of common sense and help a lot of Alabamians."
Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore in Tuesday's special election. Moore's campaign was plagued by allegations of sexual misconduct that dated back 40 years. Jones earned a close victory, 49.9 percent to 48.4 percent.
The result means Republicans will hold just two-seat advantage in the Senate chamber 51-49.
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