Alabama governor 2026

Compare candidates running in this Alabama federal race. Review their positions, voting records, campaign promises, and donor information.

Yolanda Flowers

Party: Democratic

Will Boyd

Party: Democratic

Doug Jones

Party: Democratic

Tommy Tuberville

Party: Republican

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governor

Alabama governor

Election: Nov 3, 2026Updated: Apr 10, 2026
safe r— Cook Political Report / Inside Elections (Alabama has not elected a Democratic governor since 1998)

Alabama is a deep red state where Democrats have not won a statewide election in 28 years. The 2026 gubernatorial race will remain safely Republican, though it provides a test of whether Democrats can make gains in deep southern states given recent victories in Georgia and Mississippi.

Yolanda FlowersO
Will BoydO
Doug JonesO
Tommy TubervilleR

Summary

Yolanda Flowers is a career educator and rehabilitation services expert who was Alabama's 2022 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, making her the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major party in Alabama history. She lost to incumbent Kay Ivey 66.9%-29.2% in the 2022 general election. Flowers announced her 2026 candidacy in September 2025. She faces significant fundraising challenges, having been vastly outspent in 2022.

Will Boyd is a pastor and former city councilor from Greenville, Illinois who has been a perennial candidate in Alabama politics. He was the Democratic nominee for Alabama Lieutenant Governor in 2018 and ran for U.S. Senate in 2022. Boyd was the first candidate to announce a gubernatorial run in June 2025. He is a Democrat in a deep red state facing challenging odds.

Doug Jones is a former U.S. Senator (2018-2021) and career prosecutor who is the last Democrat to win statewide office in Alabama. He is best known for securing convictions against KKK members Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry for the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Jones launched his gubernatorial campaign in November 2025, setting up a potential rematch with Tommy Tuberville, who defeated him in the 2020 Senate race by 20 points. Despite losing that race despite outspending Tuberville 3-to-1, Jones is running again as the highest-profile Democrat in a deeply red state.

Tommy Tuberville is a U.S. Senator from Alabama (2021-present) and former college football coach at Auburn University, Texas Tech, and Cincinnati. He launched his gubernatorial campaign in May 2025, becoming the front-runner in the Republican primary. Tuberville has faced persistent questions about his residency in Alabama, owning a multimillion-dollar beach home in Walton County, Florida while maintaining a home in Auburn. He is heavily backed by President Trump and the Club for Growth.

View Yolanda Flowers's Full Profile →View Will Boyd's Full Profile →View Doug Jones's Full Profile →View Tommy Tuberville's Full Profile →

Campaign Promises

No campaign promises listed yet.

No campaign promises listed yet.

Healthcare
  • Expand Medicaid
  • Protect IVF and contraception access
Economy
  • Establish a state lottery
Other
  • Improve voting access
  • Remove Alabama Public Library Service members and replace with nonpartisan appointees
Public-Safety
  • Improve mental health services and reduce incarceration
Other
  • Fighting back against woke ideology
Economy
  • Growing Alabama jobs
Education
  • Improving education
Immigration
  • Securing the border

Key Issue Positions

Party support and fundraising
Concerned about lack of Democratic party support
Flowers expressed concern about divisions within the Democratic party and lack of support from state and national Democratic leadership. She was outspent $7.2 million to $15,000 in 2022.
Tuberville's popularity
Acknowledges challenge from popular incumbent
Flowers noted that Tuberville is 'popular because of the president' (Donald Trump), making 2026 'more challenging' than 2022.

No key issues listed yet.

Tuberville's residency
Jones has made residency a central campaign issue
Jones repeatedly attacked Tuberville for not actually living in Alabama, saying the state 'wants their next governor to be someone who treats this state with grace and dignity, and not just like a rest stop on the way to the Florida beach.'
Healthcare expansion
Supports Medicaid expansion and protecting reproductive healthcare
Jones criticizes Tuberville's votes against extending tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, which Jones says could cause 130,000 Alabamians to lose health insurance.
Prison reform
Opposes Ivey's $1.2 billion prison spending
Jones criticized the use of federal pandemic relief funds for construction of a $1.2 billion prison that has spiraled over its initial budget.
Residency
Tuberville claims Auburn is his home despite owning a $4 million beach house in Florida
Property records show Tuberville owns a $270,000 home in Auburn with a homestead exemption since 2018 and a $4 million beach home in Walton County, Florida. Ken McFeeters challenged his residency in January 2026, claiming Tuberville primarily resides in Florida. Tuberville maintains he is a resident of Alabama.
Military promotions blockade
Tuberville blocked military promotions over Pentagon abortion policy
In 2023, Tuberville maintained a monthslong blockade on military promotions in protest of the Defense Department's policy providing travel funds for troops seeking abortions in states where it is legal.
State lottery
Believes legislature, not governor, should handle gambling and lottery decisions
Tuberville stated he thinks a state lottery and gambling package should be handled by the legislature, not the governor. Alabama is one of only five states without a lottery.

Top Donors

No donor data available.

No donor data available.

No donor data available.

Club for Growth
Endorsement/supportSuper PAC
Influential conservative group providing early endorsement
Raymond Harbert
Major individual donorIndividual
Birmingham businessman
PHRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America)
Major corporate donorIndustry PAC
Pharmaceutical industry trade group
VGW Holdings
$30,000Corporate
Gambling company with regulatory issues in multiple states

Contradictions

No contradictions documented.

No contradictions documented.

No contradictions documented.

No contradictions documented.

What Opponents Say

No opponent claims documented.

No opponent claims documented.

Tommy Tuberville campaign

The governor's race is 'already over' and Jones will be 'blown out again'

Tuberville campaign communications director Mallory Jaspers posted on social media that the race outcome was predetermined, drawing parallels to Jones's 2020 Senate loss.

Political analysts

Jones is 'politically the walking dead'

Retired political science professor Jess Brown suggested Jones faces insurmountable odds, noting he lost in 2020 despite being well-funded against Trump's coattails in Alabama.

Doug Jones (D)

Tuberville does not actually live in Alabama and treats the state like a rest stop on the way to his Florida beach house

Jones emphasized residency as a key campaign issue, attacking Tuberville for split residence between Alabama and Florida.

Ken McFeeters (R primary opponent)

Tuberville fails to meet Alabama's constitutional residency requirement of 7 years

McFeeters formally challenged Tuberville with the Alabama Republican Party based on property records showing a $4 million Florida beach home as his primary residence.

Endorsements

No endorsements listed.

No endorsements listed.

Musician Jason Isbellindividual
President Donald Trumpindividual
Will Ainsworthindividual
Club for Growthorganization
Nathaniel Ledbetterindividual