Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones filed paperwork Monday to run for governor of Alabama, announcing his bid in a short social media video and saying he will formally launch his campaign after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Jones, a former U.S. attorney who won a 2017 special Senate election and lost a 2020 full-term Senate race, framed his return to statewide politics as a call for leadership rooted in Alabama: a governor who lives and works in the state and listens to its people.
'In the meantime, what I know and what we have heard all along is Alabama wants their next governor to be someone who lives here, who works here, who listens to the people of this state, who understands the people of this state,' Jones said in the video.
Jones also appeared to take aim at Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the leading GOP contender, saying voters want a governor who will "treat this state with grace and dignity and not just like a rest stop on the way to the Florida beach." Tuberville, who launched his gubernatorial bid in May, has faced questions about his past residency after reports that he voted and owned property in Florida; he maintains he is a full-time Alabama resident.
Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach, defeated Jones by roughly 20 percentage points in the 2020 Senate race. Jones previously won a 2017 special election against former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was later accused of sexual misconduct involving underage girls — allegations Moore denied.
Jones is the latest Democrat to enter the party's primary, joining candidates such as educator Yolanda Flowers. Democrats face a steep uphill climb in Alabama, a reliably Republican state: Tuberville reported about $6.2 million in his campaign account at the end of October, underscoring the financial gap Jones would need to overcome.
Jones said he will formally kick off his campaign after Thanksgiving and is positioning himself as a candidate focused on local roots, dignity in office and listening to voters across the state.
