State executive race · November 3, 2026
Governor
The governor is Alabama's chief executive, who proposes the state budget, signs or vetoes legislation, and appoints the heads of many state agencies.
4-year term. Open seat: no incumbent is running. Incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey (R) is term-limited. Alabama elects its lieutenant governor in a separate race, so there is no joint ticket. Two candidates are printed on the ballot, plus a write-in line. No independent or minor-party candidate qualified for the statewide ballot.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Doug Jones
Attorney; former U.S. Senator from Alabama (2018–2021)Jones is a Birmingham attorney who served as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate from 2018 to 2021, losing re-election to Tuberville in 2020. His campaign centers on Medicaid expansion, cost-of-living measures such as ending the state grocery tax, a statewide vote on a lottery, and a one-year pause on new data centers.
Tommy Tuberville
U.S. Senator from Alabama (since 2021)Tuberville has represented Alabama in the U.S. Senate since 2021, after defeating Jones in the 2020 election, and is not seeking re-election to that seat. He previously spent about four decades in college football, including 10 seasons as Auburn's head coach. His campaign for governor focuses on recruiting jobs, cutting taxes including ending the state grocery tax, expanding school choice, and immigration enforcement.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Doug Jones Democratic | Tommy Tuberville Republican |
|---|---|---|
| Economy & Jobs | Supports raising Alabama's minimum wage, free community college for adults without credentials, more affordable child care, and directing more incentives to Alabama-owned businesses. | Says he would reduce taxes, cut government waste, and work with President Trump to cut regulations and bring manufacturing jobs to Alabama. Cites his work on Alabama's defense and space industry, including pushing to bring U.S. Space Command headquarters to Huntsville. |
| Taxes | Proposes eliminating the remaining state sales tax on groceries, suspending the state gas tax when prices spike, removing state taxes on tips and overtime, and creating a state Earned Income Tax Credit. | Pledges to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries. Has said he would like to drop the state income tax and property tax. |
| Abortion | No public position found yet | Describes Alabama as a pro-life state and opposes taxpayer funding of abortion. In 2023 he held hundreds of military nominations in the Senate to protest a Pentagon policy covering travel for service members seeking abortions. |
| Agriculture | No public position found yet | Supports President Trump's trade policies and has urged tariffs on imported Vietnamese catfish and Indian shrimp to protect Alabama producers. |
| Education | No public position found yet | Supports expanding school choice, including charter, magnet, private, public, and homeschool options, and opposes critical race theory and DEI programs in schools. |
| Elections & Democracy | Supports a constitutional amendment creating a citizen-led initiative and referendum process, early voting, and ending straight-ticket voting. Supports letting voters decide on a state lottery for education and health care. | No public position found yet |
| Energy & Environment | Proposes a one-year moratorium on new AI data centers while the state sets protections for taxpayers, utility ratepayers, communities, and natural resources. | No public position found yet |
| Guns | No public position found yet | Supports the constitutional right to bear arms and self-defense and opposes gun confiscation. |
| Health Care | Supports expanding Medicaid to cover more than 154,000 working Alabamians, protecting rural hospitals, expanding mental health services, and improving maternal and infant health. | No public position found yet |
| Housing | Says he would increase the supply of affordable housing by partnering with local communities. | No public position found yet |
| Immigration | No public position found yet | Says he would work with the Trump administration to deport immigrants in the country illegally who have committed crimes, and pledges to "back the blue" and enforce the law. |
| Public Safety | Says he would bring transparency, independent oversight, and safer facilities to state prisons, and says the state relies on prisons instead of mental health treatment. | No public position found yet |
| Reproductive Health | Supports amending the state constitution to protect access to IVF and contraception. | No public position found yet |
| Veterans | No public position found yet | Says he would make sure veterans receive the care and benefits they have earned and that federal and state transition programs for veterans work effectively. |