Former political rivals head to rematch in Alabama governor’s race and runoffs for US Senate seat

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama will get a rematch between two high-profile nominees for governor while candidates of both major parties will head to runoff elections next month for an open U.S. Senate seat.

Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, easily won their respective primaries for governor on Tuesday, setting up their second head-to-head contest after Tuberville unseated Jones six years ago.

Jones’ time in office was short-lived in the heavily Republican state but he’s hoping voters’ frustrations over the rising cost of living will propel him to a rare Democratic victory in the Deep South.

“Change means rising wages, including raising the minimum wage,” Jones said. “Change means expanding Medicaid to make healthcare affordable. Change means better jobs.”

Tuberville’s decision to enter the governor’s race ignited a rare and fierce battle among Republicans for an open Senate seat that is all but certain to stay red.

The runoff for the U.S. Senate slot for both Republican and Democratic nominees will be held on June 16.

Here’s how the rest of the races in Alabama are playing out.

Governor’s race

The November governor’s race will feature a rematch between Tuberville and Jones, who is seeking a political comeback.

Tuberville said he is often asked about running against Jones for a second time, but Tuberville said he is running against an ideology, not just a candidate.

“I’m not running against him. I’m really not. I’m running against socialism and communism,” Tuberville said.

Jones was the last Democrat to win a statewide race in Alabama during a special election in 2017.

Before running for office, the lawyer and former U.S. attorney was best known for prosecuting two Klu Klux Klansmen responsible for Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing.

Tuberville defeated Jones in 2020, after he was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who’s also backed his bid for governor.

During the primary, opponent Ken McFeeters accused Tuberville of not meeting the legal requirement to have lived in the state for seven years. Tuberville maintains he met the residency requirement, and the Alabama Republican Party dismissed McFeeters’ challenge.

Primaries for US Senate seat

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore advanced to a runoff for the Republican nomination. He’s a three-term congressman and member of the House’s conservative Freedom Caucus who has said Alabama deserves a “Trump conservative” in the Senate.

Trump has called Moore “a totally reliable MAGA Warrior!” During a brief telephone rally Monday night, Trump said: “Barry is going to do a fantastic job. He will fight for you in the Senate.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall stressed his record, including his work with other Republican-led states in filing court actions that challenged former President Joe Biden’s policies and supported Trump.

The Republican candidates also include former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, business owner Rodney Walker, cardiac surgeon Dr. Dale Shelton Deas Jr., former U.S. Navy submarine commander Seth Burton and Morgan Murphy, who dropped out of the race but remains on the ballot because of a printing deadline.

On the Democratic side, business owner Dakarai Larriett and lawyer Everett Wess are heading to a runoff, but either of them would face an uphill climb in deep-red Alabama.

The state’s other senator, Republican Sen. Katie Britt, is not up for election this year.

Congressional primaries begin, but changing maps could cause confusion

Alabama voters cast ballots Tuesday, but a redistricting fight has confused many.

Residents in all seven congressional districts voted, but the state currently plans to void the results in four districts and hold new primaries in August under a different map. The changed map is based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that severely weakened the Voting Rights Act.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has scheduled special primary elections on Aug. 11 for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts. The change comes after the state got permission to switch to a different congressional map that could help Republicans pick up a House seat in November.

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said the Tuesday votes will be tabulated in the four affected Alabama congressional districts but will be “void for the purposes of determining the party nominees.” The Aug. 11 primary will determine those nominees in winner-take-all races without a runoff, he said.

The biggest change occurs to the 2nd Congressional District now represented by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures. The district now stretches from Mobile through Montgomery to the Georgia border.

However, the district lines remain the subject of litigation. The NAACP Legal Defense Find and other groups are seeking to stop the use of the new map. If they are successful, the winner of the Tuesday primary will determine the party nominees.

But if they’re not and the new map goes forward, the Aug. 11 special primary will decide which nominees will appear on ballots in November.

Shayla Mitchell, an organizer with the Alabama Election Protection Coalition, said the situation has fueled voter confusion.

“People assumed that our election was cancelled, which is not true,” Mitchell said.

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,” he said as he walked up to his polling place in Tuskegee, in the 2nd Congressional District. “It’s diluting the Black vote.”

Attorney general’s race

The attorney general’s race has turned into a costly and contentious fight.

Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell, Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey and Katherine Robertson, chief counsel for Attorney General Steve Marshall, are battling for the Republican nomination.

An outside group funded an advertisement critical of Mitchell for writing the main court opinion that led to in vitro fertilization clinics in the state temporarily shutting down. The ruling said frozen embryos could be considered “unborn children” and couples could pursue wrongful death claims after their embryos were destroyed in a hospital accident. The 2024 decision relied on an Alabama law from 1872.

Mitchell said he supports IVF and that the ad is distorting the facts of the case.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Jeff McLaughlin, a former state legislator who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Kim Chandler, The Associated Press