Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) officially started his bid for Alabama governor on Friday, sharing his campaign vision with voters at a Birmingham rally.
Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, lost the 2020 election to current Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Both are running for governor. If Jones and Tuberville win their respective primary elections, they could face a possible rematch next year.
The former senator is looking to make a political comeback reminiscent of his 2017 victory in the special Senate election for a vacant Alabama seat.
“On that Election Day in 2017, we gave the people, not just in Alabama, but across this country, something even more significant. We gave them hope for a stronger democracy,” Jones said. “And today, eight years later, we’re rekindling that hope, that optimism, that enthusiasm. Let’s face it, there is a greater urgency for hope today than there was in 2017.”
Part of his vision for the state is the hope that “everyone has a place at the table and a sense of belonging,” he added.
During his speech in Birmingham, Jones promised to protect in vitro fertilization and contraception as abortion remains banned in Alabama. He also vowed to expand Medicaid and attacked Tuberville over his vote against extending tax credits for the Affordable Care Act. President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act also drew the Democratic candidate’s ire. Tuberville voted for the GOP megabill.
“Tuberville, with this Donald Trump first and Alabama afterthought mindset, his blind support of what I call the anything but beautiful bill. Tuberville has been slamming the door on Medicaid expansion,” Jones said. “He doesn’t care about the health of Alabama families. He just cares more about what’s going on on the beach down to Santa Rosa.”
Jones announced his 2026 gubernatorial run late last month, but his campaign began in earnest with Friday’s event.
FORMER SEN. DOUG JONES ANNOUNCES ALABAMA GUBERNATORIAL RUN
He joins four other Democratic candidates for their party’s gubernatorial primary in May 2026. Meanwhile, Tuberville is vying for the Republican nomination in his intraparty primary run against failed 2024 congressional candidate Ken McFeeters.
Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) is term-limited and unable to seek a third consecutive term in office.