Today we are talking to Sen. Doug Jones, who is one week away from the election to determine if he gets to stay in the U.S. Senate or whether voters will send him home after almost three years in favor of Republican Tommy Tuberville.

Jones came to the Senate in truly unique fashion. Alabama had not elected a Democrat statewide in almost 20 years. But when Republicans nominated the controversial Roy Moore and allegations of a history of sexual impropriety with minors surfaced, a combination of crossover, write ins and staying home among Republicans helped boost Jones to victory.

Flash forward to today, and this election does not seem unique. In fact, looking at the polling and other dynamics, it looks more like Alabama elections tend to look, with voters tethering closely to their party or ideology. For all his inexperience and tendency for gaffes, Tuberville is not Roy Moore. Attacks on his coaching career, business endeavors and charitable efforts haven't exactly landed in a way that would create a groundswell of conservative opposition that existed with Moore.

The latest polling in the race, first reported by Alabama Daily News, shows Jones trailing Tuberville 41% to 55% among likely voters. That aligns with a previous poll taken by AUM that showed Tuberville leading 54-42%. the Jones camp, however, insists that some of the recent polls have been off, and have pointed to a FM3 Research poll that showed Jones leading Tuberville 48-47%.

Any objective analysis would conclude that Jones has an uphill battle in this race, but he is out there fighting it. They have been about as active as you can be in a pandemic and taking the race to Tuberville in some effective advertising aimed at moderate voters who don't vote on hot button issues. That's a contrast from Tuberville, who has avoided almost all public appearances and media interviews in favor of small gatherings and letting his ads do the talking. (Tuberville's campaign did not respond to multiple requests for an interview recently, but we're still hoping he'll say yes.)

My conversation with Jones was pretty timely: just hours before he had cast a vote in the Senate against proceeding with the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. This was the last procedural hurdle before the actual confirmation vote, in which Jones also voted no.

That issue, Supreme Court confirmation votes, is one of the biggest weapons Republicans wield against. He has voted against the confirmation of two of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominees, and though he has explanations for both, that's an issue cut and dry for many conservatives. I was grateful to get an opportunity to talk about that with him.

We also talked about the other bugaboo issue in abortion, another issue in which his nuance defies the black and white way many on both sides see the issue. Perhaps the most surprising thing about his comments there was the way he spoke of Alabama's 20 week abortion ban and how he didn't have a problem with it.

Another interesting topic we discussed was court packing and ending the filibuster, which some Senate Democrats are threatening to do in retaliation for Republicans confirming Barrett so close to the election. Jones isn't for either, and his explanation for why is interesting. Finally, he talked about, in the hypothetical of a Joe Biden presidency, being a moderating voice to a president who will be tugged to the left by the liberal base.

Anyway, here it is, In the Weeds with Senator Doug Jones.