Former political rivals faced voters again on Tuesday in Alabama, setting up a rematch for the state’s governor’s race and runoffs for an open U.S. Senate seat, while redistricting fights complicated how some congressional races will be decided. Republican Tommy Tuberville and Democrat Doug Jones won their respective primaries for governor, although their paths to the rematch come from different political eras and different campaigns.
Tuberville, a former college football coach, will return to a statewide contest against Jones after winning once before when he unseated Jones six years ago. Jones, whose time in the Senate began with a special election win in 2017, said he was seeking a political comeback in a state that has leaned heavily Republican, pointing to voter frustration with the party’s dominance in state government and its approach to issues including healthcare and the cost of living.
In his remarks, Jones framed his campaign as a change on economic and healthcare priorities. He said, “Change means rising wages, including raising the minimum wage,” adding that “Change means expanding Medicaid to make healthcare affordable” and “Change means better jobs.” The governor’s rematch also sets up another chance for Tuberville to define his candidacy against Jones, a contrast he emphasized as an ideological battle rather than a contest between personal rivals.
Tuberville, whose decision to enter the governor’s race helped ignite a crowded Senate field among Republicans, said he was not “running against him,” and added, “I’m really not. I’m running against socialism and communism.” He said the other side’s ideology was “so bad,” “so far left,” and “that has nothing to do with the last 250 years” that he said had made the country “great.”
The open U.S. Senate seat will be filled through June runoffs after candidates advanced from Tuesday’s primaries. The Republican nominee will come from a crowded GOP pack in which U.S. Rep. Barry Moore advanced and will face the winner of the attorney general primary runoff for the other GOP slot, while the Democratic nominees advanced to runoffs as well. The runoff for the Senate slot for Republican and Democratic nominees is scheduled for June 16.
On the GOP side, Moore’s path included support from former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Moore. Moore, a three-term congressman and member of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus, told supporters Tuesday night, “We’re going to win this thing, and God’s going to bless this great nation,” and during a telephone rally Monday night Trump said, “Barry is going to do a fantastic job. He will fight for you in the Senate.” Moore has also described his role in Washington in stark terms, including comments that he would be the person to “take out the trash” in Washington, and he later said, “God’s going to send a garbage man to the United States Senate.”
Another GOP runoff slot is still undecided after Attorney General Steve Marshall advanced in a close race that included former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson. The candidates were heading to a runoff with Marshall emphasizing his record, including litigation in other Republican-led states challenging former President Joe Biden’s policies and supporting Trump.
On the Democratic side, business owner Dakarai Larriett and lawyer Everett Wess advanced to a runoff, but both would face an uphill climb in Alabama’s political landscape. The Democratic nominees will be determined in the same June 16 runoff framework that will finalize the Republican and Democratic Senate general-election candidates.
Beyond statewide races, Alabama’s election-day returns for U.S. House primaries faced uncertainty because redistricting litigation and map changes were already in motion. The state currently plans to void Tuesday’s results in four congressional districts and hold new primaries in August under a different map, according to the plan Governor Kay Ivey scheduled special primaries on Aug. 11 for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said Tuesday’s votes will still be tabulated in the four affected districts but will be “void for the purposes of determining the party nominees.” Allen said the Aug. 11 primary will determine those nominees in winner-take-all races without a runoff. The plan has confused some voters as they try to understand what map will ultimately apply to November, particularly because a Supreme Court decision has weakened the Voting Rights Act.
In the 2nd Congressional District, which is currently represented by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures and runs from Mobile through Montgomery to the Georgia border, the district lines remained the subject of litigation. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and other groups sought to stop the new map; if the challenge succeeds, the winner of the Tuesday primary would determine the party nominees. If the new map goes forward, the Aug. 11 special primary would decide which nominees appear on the ballot in November.
Voter reaction in polling areas reflected the uncertainty about how the redistricting outcome would affect representation. Anthony Lee, 80, said he was upset about the state’s effort to switch congressional maps but was unsure where the dispute stood. “I’m totally against them changing maps,” Lee said while walking up to his polling place in Tuskegee, adding that he believed the change was “diluting the Black vote.”
The election also included other state-level races where runoff contests were set. Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell and Katherine Robertson, the chief counsel for Attorney General Steve Marshall, advanced to a runoff for the Republican nomination for attorney general, where the winner would face Jeff McLaughlin, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. An outside group funded an advertisement critical of Mitchell tied to a past court opinion on in vitro fertilization clinics, in which the ruling said frozen embryos could be considered “unborn children” and that couples could pursue wrongful death claims after embryos were destroyed in a hospital accident; Mitchell said he supports IVF and that the ad distorted the facts of the case.