Trump-Backed Tuberville Squares Off Against Dem Senator on the Hot Seat
Campaigning in solidly pro-Trump Alabama, Democratic Sen. Doug Jones urged voters to look at his record from his three years in office.
“Don’t listen to the lies. … I don’t want to defund the police. I’m not taking anybody’s guns away. I’m not for federally funded abortions,” Jones said in his closing message to supporters in Troy.
“Look at the record. I’ve got a record passing bipartisan legislation, working with Republicans, working with Democrats. I’ve got a record for doing things for teachers, for farmers, for our military, for Alabama.”
Considered the most endangered Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Jones is facing Republican Tommy Tuberville, who harnessed college football coaching fame and President Donald Trump’s endorsement to block former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ attempt at a political comeback.
Sessions has since appeared with Tuberville on the campaign trail.
The race will test whether Jones’ 2017 special election win was a fluke driven by the fact that the GOP nominee, Roy Moore, faced a litany of sexual misconduct allegations.
The outcome of this year’s race could also have a big impact on the Senate, which Republicans currently control 53-47.
While Tuberville entered the race as a strong favorite, Jones holds a 4-to-1 spending advantage and both campaigns sent out fundraising emails contending the race is tightening.
Positioning himself as a political outsider, Tuberville’s message has been heavy on support for Trump.
In a recent ad, Tuberville said, “I’m going to stand with President Trump to finish the border wall, cut your taxes and protect life.”
“Between Doug Jones and me, voters have the choice between a devoted liberal who embraces the D.C. swamp or a committed conservative outsider who wants to fundamentally change the way Washington operates,” Tuberville said in a statement.
Tuberville’s career as a football coach has even become campaign fodder.
The former Auburn University football coach ran an ad with a former player describing how Tuberville cared about players as people, not just athletes. Jones, meanwhile, ran a commercial saying Tuberville “quit on his players” when he abruptly changed coaching jobs multiple times.
Jones, the first Alabama Democrat elected to the Senate in a quarter-century, is trying to prove his 2017 victory was no outlier.
“A lot has to go right for a Democrat in Alabama to pick the lock and win an election. Jones ran an exemplary campaign in 2017 and benefited from a perfect storm — and many of those same underlying elements are in place again,” Zac McCrary, a Democratic pollster, said.
Republican campaign strategist Angi Stalnaker said Tuberville comes in with an “incredible advantage” just by having an “R” by his name.
Many Alabamans also aren’t happy that Jones voted in February to remove Trump from office, she said.
“I think Senator Jones has been on the ropes since the day he was sworn in, but when he cast a vote to impeach Trump … I think he put his nail in his own coffin,” Stalnaker said.
Trump is expected to easily carry the state again, meaning Jones would have to win over some Trump voters.
Jones made a direct appeal to GOP voters in ads featuring Republican voters, including retired Gen. Charles Krulak — a former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps — endorsing Jones.
“Although I am a lifelong Republican, I’m urging you to vote for Doug Jones. His work on the Armed Services Committee supports our veterans and military families, and ensures that we have the best equipped military in the world,” Krulak said in the ad.
Collen Layton, a 23-year-old graphic design student, came to hear Jones speak in Troy.
“It’s just kind of a no-brainer to me. He has a record of working across the aisle and can tell that he cares about the people of Alabama. And you have Tommy Tuberville, who seems like he has no clue what he is doing,” Layton said.
In Hoover, 56-year-old retired field artillery officer Russ Stringer said it was a similarly easy choice to vote for Tuberville and has criticized Jones on social media.
“I have called him out on his abortion stance and how it does not agree with most people in Alabama. I called him out on voting to remove President Trump twice,” Stringer said.
There are some discouraging signs for Jones, including that national Democratic groups haven’t reported significant spending in Alabama, according to finance reports.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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