Alabama Governor Race 2026: Who Will Win

Republican gubernatorial nominee Sen. Tommy Tuberville argued Alabama voters should elect him governor because President Trump would not extend the same support to Democratic nominee Doug Jones. "He's not going to help Doug Jones," Tuberville said on "The Jeff Poor Show," adding "that's not going to happen."

Tuberville credited Trump with directing an estimated $20 to $30 billion toward Alabama's economy, though he did not detail which programs or projects made up that figure. He said he hopes to keep working with Trump during the final two years of his presidency on jobs and federal investment in the state. Tuberville did not clarify whether a Jones win would mean Alabama losing federal assistance. He also framed the broader 2026 midterms as a referendum on Trump's agenda, telling voters that backing Republicans down the ballot would determine how much support the president retains in Washington. The Jones campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump drew a large crowd to the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama, returning to the city where he held an early breakout rally during his 2016 campaign. The stop kicked off a broader fall campaign push ahead of the November midterms, with the White House planning near-daily appearances in competitive states.

Trump used the rally to back Senator Tommy Tuberville in his gubernatorial bid against former Democratic Senator Doug Jones, Representative Barry Moore's campaign for Tuberville's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat, and state Representative Rhett Marques, who is running for Alabama's redrawn 2nd Congressional District currently held by Democratic Representative Shomari Figures. Republicans see the seat as a pickup opportunity following redistricting.

Earlier in the day, Governor Kay Ivey and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy broke ground on the $3.2 billion Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project. Strategists noted the rally's location also extends media reach into the conservative Florida Panhandle, reinforcing turnout momentum for Republicans heading into election day.

With Alabama's Nov. 3 election 10 days out, forecasters have shifted two marquee races. Sabato's Crystal Ball moved the U.S. Senate contest between Republican Tommy Tuberville and Democrat Doug Jones from "Safe Republican" to "Likely Republican," citing polls showing Tuberville leading by just over 10 points. Cook Political Report upgraded Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures' odds of retaining his U.S. House seat against Republican state Rep. Rhett Marques, moving that race from "Likely Republican" to "Leans Republican."

The campaigns have grown contentious: Tuberville, also running for governor, released a policy outline and faced backlash over a proposed state-level DOGE effort and comments on pastors and migration; Jones condemned an AI-driven attack page funded by the state GOP. Both House candidates called for a Republican state lawmaker facing human trafficking-related charges to resign.

Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Democrat Doug Jones escalated their fight for Alabama governor this week, trading accusations over socialism, public education and public safety. In a Mobile radio interview, Tuberville labeled Democrats socialists, tied Jones to figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Zohran Mamdani and Stacey Abrams, and called public schools "government schools" that fail to teach basics while defending the CHOOSE Act as a way to force competition. Jones rejected the socialist label, pointed to his record passing bipartisan bills in the Senate, and said he would phase out the CHOOSE Act to redirect funding to public schools.

Jones also renewed his push for a debate, accusing Tuberville of avoiding unscripted questions, a challenge Tuberville did not accept, instead citing his 2020 Senate win over Jones. On crime, Tuberville pledged more troopers and "law and order" without naming specific communities, while Jones countered by emphasizing his experience as a federal prosecutor. Abrams is set to campaign with Jones in Huntsville, fueling Tuberville's effort to nationalize the race.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted Toforest Johnson's death sentence to life in prison without parole, citing insufficient direct evidence to justify execution. Johnson was convicted in 1998 for the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy, largely on testimony from a paid "earwitness." Ivey said the move was not a declaration of innocence. The decision followed years of advocacy from former Attorney General Bill Baxley, former chief justices, convicting jurors, and the original prosecutor, over strong objections from Attorney General Steve Marshall, who urged Ivey to respect the jury's verdict. Critics note prosecutors gave contradictory accounts across multiple trials of who fired the fatal shot. Johnson's attorneys continue pursuing a new trial; Ivey has now commuted three death sentences while overseeing 27 executions.

Tennessee lawmakers from both parties say they intend to honor Dolly Parton during the legislative session beginning next January, though no formal plan has been agreed upon. House Deputy Speaker Jason Zachary and Rep. John Ray Clemmons said leadership will consult Parton's family and friends before advancing any proposal, describing her as a unifying figure even in death.

The legislature has weighed tributes before: a 2021 bill to erect a Parton statue at the Capitol won rare bipartisan backing but was withdrawn after Parton herself asked lawmakers to hold off, citing pandemic-era timing, while suggesting she might welcome the honor "down the road." Individual lawmakers have since floated ideas, including designating September 25 as "9 to 5 Day" and renaming Nashville International Airport after Parton, a proposal from Rep. Todd Warner, who previously pushed to name the airport after President Trump. Leadership says a unified proposal is still being developed.

Parton died at age 80, prompting national tributes, including President Trump's order to lower U.S. flags to half-staff and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey's matching proclamation honoring her career and philanthropy, including her Imagination Library literacy program.

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering companion bills (H.3351/S.2134) to create a permanent state commission focused on Muslim residents' interests, including recommending Muslim appointees for government boards. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a candidate for Alabama governor, publicly rejected the idea on X, saying no similar measure would pass in Alabama under his watch.

The response has fueled broader commentary urging Tuberville to go further than a social media post, proposing that Alabama pursue legislation asserting the state's Protestant Christian heritage and testing constitutional limits on religious liberty, drawing comparisons to past Alabama fights over Ten Commandments displays and local zoning disputes involving Muslim institutions, such as a withdrawn rezoning request in Hoover. Proponents frame this as a "history and tradition" argument akin to reasoning used in other Supreme Court cases, while acknowledging existing First Amendment doctrine sharply limits what any state could actually enact. The episode highlights ongoing national tension over religious identity, government recognition of minority faiths, and the boundaries of state authority.

Alabama executed Jeffery Lee, 49, by lethal injection Thursday evening at Holman Correctional Facility, pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m., for the 1998 murders of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson during a robbery at Jimmy's Pawn Shop in Orrville. Ellis, known for performing as masked Elvis impersonator "Orion," and Thompson were shot along with a third employee who survived by feigning death and later testified against Lee. In his final words, Lee expressed love for his family and fellow death row inmates.

The execution followed a judge's ruling that had blocked the state's original plan to execute Lee via nitrogen gas in June over constitutional concerns. The attorney general's office then sought a new date using lethal injection, despite a 2018 agreement tied to a prior lawsuit stating nitrogen hypoxia would be used if Lee were executed. His attorneys argued the switch violated that agreement; the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay request hours before the execution.

Lee's case drew added scrutiny because the jury that convicted him voted 7-5 for life without parole, but the trial judge overrode that recommendation—a practice Alabama has since abolished, though not retroactively. Gov. Kay Ivey declined to grant clemency. Lee was the 27th person executed in the U.S. this year and the second in Alabama.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has praised a federal crackdown on truck-driving schools, following a joint action this week by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice that shut down 110 schools for English-proficiency violations and 160 more for failing DOT training standards. The agencies also launched the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, a multistate effort targeting fraudulent commercial driver licensing and illegal trucking operations.

Ivey highlighted Alabama's own enforcement record, citing a partnership between the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's Motor Carrier Safety Unit and ICE that began in October 2025. Over the past 11 months, the unit has assisted in detaining 561 people for immigration violations found during commercial vehicle stops and issued 1,022 English-proficiency violations since last January. Ivey also pointed to the Highway Safety and Fairness Act, signed in March and taking effect October 1, which requires foreign CDL holders to have U.S. work authorization and English proficiency, and criminalizes presenting fraudulent foreign CDLs. The state reports a 24 percent drop in commercial-vehicle fatalities this year. Alabama issues CDLs only to lawful permanent residents.