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 months.
A former United States attorney, Mr. Jones, 63, has relied most heavily on a community of liberal lawyers and veteran prosecutors who have vouched for him in Washington. Among Mr. Jones’s champions have been Mr. Holder, who served with Mr. Jones as a federal prosecutor, and Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the former vice-presidential candidate whom Mr. Jones befriended more than a decade ago.
More than a dozen former United States attorneys cut checks to Mr. Jones’s campaign by the end of September, from states across the South as well as California, Massachusetts, Michigan and New York. Mr. Kaine contributed $5,000, the maximum amount allowed from his political action committee in May, three months before any other Democratic senator gave him a donation.
Even before Mr. Moore faced a debilitating scandal, Mr. Jones had established a clear financial advantage. He finished September with about $1 million in the bank, nearly double Mr. Moore’s modest war chest, and that disparity has likely grown.
Brett Doster, a Moore spokesman, said the campaign isn't directly in charge of the security next week when former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is scheduled to join the ex-judge. "I don't think that is going to be our event," Dorster said via email, declining to elaborate.
"Right now, we don't have serious concerns about security," said Doster. "Our fans at these events are strongly protective of the judge, and most of them carry. And unlike wimpy Doug Jones, Roy Moore can handle himself."
In response, Sebastian Kitchen, a spokesman with the Jones campaign, said Moore is in hiding.
"Doug prosecuted domestic terrorists and sent them to prison for life while Roy Moore hides from debating Doug, hides from the press, hides from the issues, hides from his accusers and even hides from our campaign on social media," Kitchen said. "Instead of childish name calling, Roy Moore and his handlers should come out from behind their computers and talk about the issues that affect Alabama families every day."