AP projects Tuberville wins Alabama governor’s race with 52.1% as 97% votes tallied

AP projects Tuberville wins Alabama governor’s race with 52.1% as 97% votes tallied

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With 97 percent of the vote tallied, the Associated Press projected at 12:36 a.m. Wednesday that Republican Tommy Tuberville has won Alabama’s governor’s race, capturing 52.1 percent of the vote to Democrat Doug Jones’s 47.9 percent—872,445 votes to 703,000 in unofficial returns, according to Yahoo. The Associated Press called the race hours after Tuberville declared victory to more than 400 supporters in Auburn while fewer than 70 percent of ballots had been counted, and WSFA reported the margin at 52 to 48 as of 12:30 a.m.

The result marks a return to the governor’s mansion for the former Auburn Tigers head football coach, who left the U.S. Senate after one term to pursue the state’s top office. Tuberville, who won his Senate seat in 2021 but opted not to seek re-election, defeated fellow Republicans Ken McFeeters and Will Santivasci in the GOP primary to reach the general election, WSFA reported. He faced a rematch against Jones, who served as Alabama’s junior U.S. Senator from 2018 to 2021 before losing that seat to Tuberville by nearly 20 points.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville claims victory in Alabama Governor’s race while his opponent won’t concede.

A Rematch That Stayed Close Until the Final Hours

Jones refused to concede Tuesday night, telling roughly 200 supporters in Birmingham that “there are probably at least 100,000 votes in Jefferson County alone” and that a concession would be premature. The Democrat, who won the nomination after defeating Will Boyd, Jamel Brown, Yolanda Flowers, Chad “Chig” Martin and Nathan Mathis, said “it’s not going to be easy with this, but there is a path there. “We believe we can absolutely do it, but we may not,” as the contest was the closest gubernatorial race in Alabama in 24 years and the most high-profile since 2018.”

Throughout the campaign, Tuberville declined to debate Jones and was not available for a sit-down interview ahead of the election, his team instead referring to a previously released “Back to Basics: The Golden Age Playbook” outlining his priorities. Residency challenges that claimed he did not meet state requirements to run were dismissed by the Alabama Supreme Court over the summer, WSFA reported.

Contrasting Visions for the State

The two candidates offered sharply different platforms. Tuberville ran on expanding the CHOOSE Act, Alabama’s voucher program, cutting state income and grocery taxes, and reducing the size of state government. His playbook promises to reduce the state workforce, attract private jobs, protect rural hospitals, and audit every government agency. “Winning is not an accident, it is a decision,” Tuberville told his Auburn crowd. “Tonight, Alabama decided to win.” He also pledged accountability, stating, “Every goal we set will go on a public scoreboard,” while acknowledging, “I’m not going to promise you perfection.”

Jones, meanwhile, campaigned on cutting the grocery tax as part of a broader affordability agenda and called for Medicaid expansion, affordable housing, and constitutional protections, Yahoo reported. He held more than 20 town halls across the state, drawing crowds in the hundreds and thousands, and managed to match Tuberville’s fundraising despite the Republican’s overall financial advantage.

AP projects Tuberville wins Alabama governor’s race with 52.1% as 97% votes tallied
Photo: yahoo.com

National Context and What Comes Next

The Alabama result unfolded as Democrats won enough seats to retake control of both the U.S. House and Senate, WSFA reported. Tuberville addressed the national results directly, telling supporters, “In the face of blue waves, which we’ve had tonight unfortunately, this staff has stood up to the pressure and said, ‘Not in my Alabama.'” He added, “I guarantee you this: I and we will not let you down. The folks who didn’t vote for me, listen, I’m going to be your governor too.”

Tuberville succeeds term-limited Governor Kay Ivey, who held the office for 10 years.

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