Former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones is running for governor of Alabama in the 2026 midterm elections.
Following his ouster from the upper chamber in 2021, Jones mounted his campaign for a political comeback in his state on Monday evening. Jones’s announcement could put a rematch on the 2026 schedule between himself and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), as Alabama could see the two political rivals take the field if they each win their first-round matchups in the primaries.
“What I know and 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,” Jones said in his announcement. “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 was initially elected to the Senate in a special election in 2017 to fill a vacancy left by former Sen. Jeff Sessions when he resigned to become President Donald Trump’s attorney general. Jones narrowly defeated Republican candidate Roy Moore, who was riddled with sexual misconduct allegations, to become the first Democratic Alabama senator of the 21st century.
Following a term marked by bipartisan efforts, Jones fell in the 2020 election to Tuberville, a former college football coach, who has been in Washington since. Jones, a lawyer, has remained politically active since leaving Capitol Hill.
“Folks in Alabama deserve a governor who is going to fight for them,” Jones said. “We’re going to be going around in this campaign, we’re going to be listening to people across the state. We’re going to do everything we can to bring the people back to the state capitol of Montgomery, Alabama. As your governor, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
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Before entering the political sphere in 2017, the former senator served as a U.S. attorney in Alabama, nominated by former President Bill Clinton. Jones rose to prominence for his work in prosecuting Ku Klux Klan members responsible for the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham in 1963.
Current Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) is term-limited and cannot seek reelection. With multiple candidates currently running for each party ticket, the primaries will take place on May 19, 2026.
