AP
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Former Sen. Doug Jones, whose 2017 election renewed hope for Alabama Democrats, introduced Monday he’s working for governor of Alabama in 2026.
Jones introduced his marketing campaign Monday afternoon, hours after submitting marketing campaign paperwork with the secretary of state’s workplace. His gubernatorial bid might arrange a rematch with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican who defeated Jones in 2020 and is now running for governor. Both candidates have get together primaries in May earlier than the November race.
“I am running for governor of Alabama,” Jones stated in a marketing campaign video posted on social media. “Folks in Alabama deserve a governor who is going to fight for them.” He will do an official marketing campaign kickoff subsequent month.
“What we have heard all along is that Alabama wants their next governor to be someone who lives here, who works here, who listens to the people of this state, who understands the people of this state. And Alabama wants their next governor to be someone who treats this state with grace and dignity and not just like a rest stop on the way to the Florida beach,” Jones stated.
The assertion was an obvious reference to Tuberville, who faced questions about his residency in the 2020 Senate race, when his political opponents referred to him as a “Florida man.” Property tax information present he owns a $270,000 house in Auburn, the place he claims a homestead exemption, and a $4 million seashore house in Walton County, Florida.
Jones’ entry into the race comes after weeks of hypothesis and teasing a few doable run as Jones labored to advertise Democrats within the Deep South state.
“Stay tuned,” Jones replied at a Blueprint Alabama occasion when requested if he was going to leap into the governor’s race. Jones instructed The Associated Press this spring that, “One way or another, I am going to stay in the fight.”
Jones, a lawyer and former US lawyer greatest identified for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen accountable for Birmingham’s notorious 1963 church bombing, was elected to the Senate in 2017. He defeated Republican Roy Moore, who was wounded by sexual misconduct allegations, in a particular election to fill the Senate seat beforehand held by Jeff Sessions. Jones misplaced three years later to Tuberville, a former soccer coach backed by President Donald Trump.
Jones was the final Democrat elected to statewide workplace in Alabama.
Republicans have had a lock on the Alabama governor’s workplace for greater than 20 years. Former Gov. Don Siegelman was the final Democrat to carry the workplace, however he misplaced in 2002 to Bob Riley by a razor-thin margin.
Kevin Donohoe, a spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association, stated Democrats have gained in different robust states reminiscent of Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina, and he stated there is a chance in Alabama.
“With health care costs rising, schools failing and not enough good-paying jobs, Alabama families are hurting — but Tommy Tuberville would only make things worse. Alabama deserves new leadership that will get results, and there’s an opportunity for a Democrat who fits the state well to make this race competitive,” Donohoe stated.