Tuberville Projected to Win Alabama Governor’s Race
Tuberville claimed victory Tuesday night. Jones declined to concede at his watch party before the AP called the race early Wednesday
TL;DR: The Associated Press projected Republican Tommy Tuberville would win Alabama’s Governor’s race early Wednesday. Tuberville had claimed victory Tuesday evening, while Democrat Doug Jones urged supporters to wait for more votes to be counted.
Republican Tommy Tuberville is projected to become Alabama’s next Governor after the Associated Press called the race early Wednesday, ending an election night in which Tuberville claimed victory and Democrat Doug Jones declined to concede.
The call came after midnight, hours after the two men addressed supporters at separate watch parties. Tuberville celebrated in Auburn. Jones, speaking in Birmingham, said too many votes remained uncounted to concede.
According to WSFA 12 News, Tuberville led about 52% to 48% at 12:30 a.m., with 97% of the vote tallied. The AP projection followed shortly afterward. Those figures were unofficial returns, not a certified final result.
At press time, the Alabama Secretary of State’s website listed the unofficial results as 47.87% for Jones and 51.78% for Tuberville.
Tuberville, a U.S. senator and former Auburn head football coach, will succeed term-limited Governor Kay Ivey.
He had already declared victory Tuesday evening, before the AP called the contest.
“Winning is not an accident, it is a decision,” Tuberville told supporters. “Tonight, Alabama decided to win.”
Jones struck a different tone at his watch party at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel. He said a concession would be premature and pointed to votes still outstanding in Jefferson County.
“There’s kind of good news and bad news,” Jones said. “The bad news is that this is not a victory speech. The good news is it’s not a concession speech either.”
His remarks came at approximately 10:30 PM, before the AP projection at 12:36 AM.
The contest was a rematch of the 2020 U.S. Senate race, when Tuberville defeated Jones by nearly 20 percentage points. This time, Jones narrowed that gap sharply, though the early Wednesday returns still left him behind.
The candidates offered distinct plans for the State. Tuberville backed an expansion of the CHOOSE Act school choice program, tax cuts and a smaller state government. Jones pushed for Medicaid expansion, more affordable housing and a cut to the grocery tax.
Tuberville also made public safety a central theme. In his election-night speech, he renewed his pledge to use the National Guard to address crime in Montgomery, according to WBHM. He also cited manufacturing jobs, fewer government hurdles and school choice among his priorities.
As of this writing, Jones had not formally conceded the race.
