A former Democratic Senator from Alabama plans to challenge the state's senior Senator for the state's governor's office, according to a new report.
Doug Jones, who served in the Senate from 2018 to 2021, is preparing to file his paperwork with Alabama's Secretary of State and officially announce his candidacy for governor this week, according to a report from AL.com. Jones, a civil rights lawyer, is expected to face an uphill battle against Sen. Tommy Tuberville in the election, according to the report. It cites a recent poll of 605 likely voters who "substantially" favored Tuberville in the contest.
“I got a call from those very, very close to former U.S. Senator Doug Jones,” said Bill Britt, editor of the Alabama Political Report, the report stated. “And we can now report with certainty that Doug Jones will file his paperwork with the Secretary of State this coming week to run for governor of Alabama.”
Jones won a special election in 2017 for a seat that was vacated when President Donald Trump appointed Jeff Sessions to serve as his Attorney General during his first administration. He has been teasing a run for governor for several months, according to the report.
Tuberville, the former football coach at Auburn University, beat Jones in the 2021 senatorial election. He has raised approximately $7 million for his election campaign.