Doug Jones, Tommy Tuberville win gubernatorial nominations, setting up 2020 rematch

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones won the Republican and Democratic nominations for governor on Tuesday, setting up a rematch of their Senate battle in 2020.

As of 9:31 p.m., Tuberville had 209,880 votes, about 85.1%, in the Republican primary. Ken McFeeters, an insurance agency owner, came in second with 24,206 votes, about 9.8%, and Will Sativasci, an Oxford small business owner, got 12,681 votes, according to unofficial results. 

As of 9:31 p.m., Jones had 121,722 votes, about 78.4%, in the Democratic primary. Will Boyd, a pastor and an engineer, came in second with 14,120 votes, about 9.1%, and Yolanda Flowers, 2022 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, got 9,043 votes, according to unofficial results. 

Speaking to a crowd of about 300 supporters at Vulcan Park in Birmingham, Tuberville said he will not be running against Jones in the general election, but the Democratic Party’s ideology.

“I’m not running against him, I’m really not. I’m running against socialism and communism. I’m running against people that believe in killing the unborn,” he said. “I’m running against an ideology that is so bad, that is so far left, that has nothing to do with the last 250 years that this country has been great, that it’s going to be fun to run against, because they have nothing positive to say.”

Three miles away, Doug Jones spoke to a crowd of about 200 supporters at the High Dive Hifi Lounge, promising to work for the people of Alabama, not special interest groups.

“For too long, folks in Montgomery have worked only for themselves and the power, the powerful people who put them there. That’s who they work for, the well connected, the special interest. They don’t work for the people of Alabama,” he said. “Our goal, folks, our goal is a different kind of state government, one that truly belongs to the people of Alabama.”

The Democratic primary drew six candidates. After Flowers, talk show host Ja’Mel Brown came in fourth place with about 4.1% of votes; Enterprise small business owner Chad “Chig” Martin came in fifth place with about 1.7% of votes; and former state Rep. Nathan Mathis came in last place with less than 1% of votes.

Campaign promises

Tuberville promised to focus on smaller Alabama towns like Decatur, Prattville and Gadsden, if elected for his economic development plans. He claimed that 30% of all Alabamians are unemployed. According to the Alabama Department of Labor, Alabama’s unemployment rate was 2.6% in March.

“You want to work, we’re going to put you in workforce development, and we’re going to train you. We need welders, we need plumbers, we need nurses, we need people that will go out and can actually work with their hands,” he said. “You’ll make more than somebody that’s going to school and getting a PhD by teaching and learning workforce development.”

In Jones’ victory speech, he said voters are looking for change. He continued his “kitchen table” promises of Medicaid expansion, raising minimum wage and investing in small businesses.

“Change means rising wages, including raising the minimum wage. Change means better, more affordable health care. Change means expanding Medicaid to make healthcare work. Change means better jobs, often by investing in small businesses, they’re already here,” Jones said. “That’s what change means. Change means working for Alabama.”

Anna Barrett writes for Alabama Reflector, a nonprofit news agency in Montgomery.