Tuberville, Jones projected winners of Alabama GOP, Democratic gubernatorial nominations

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - It appears a rematch is set between Democrat Doug Jones, who lost his U.S. Senate seat to newcomer Tommy Tuberville in 2021.

This time, the race is shifting from Capitol Hill to Goat Hill with the Alabama Governor’s Mansion as the prize.

The Associated Press is projecting Tuberville will win the GOP nomination for governor and will square off in November against Jones, the projected Democratic nominee.

Tuberville, who opted not to run for a second term in Congress, had been the presumptive frontrunner for the nomination since before he threw his hat into the ring.

Tuberville is projected to defeat fellow GOP hopefuls Ken McFeeters and Will Santivasci to become the party’s general election standard-bearer.

McFeeters is a former congressional candidate and co-founder of a Hoover insurance agency. He filed an unsuccessful court challenge against Tuberville in which he claimed the senator is ineligible to run citing state residency requirements.

Santivasci has 20 years of experience in the auto manufacturing industry and has worked as a real estate developer.

DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE?

Jones is the projected winner among six candidates vying to become the Democratic nominee to face Tuberville in the general election. Jones served in the Senate from 2018-2021 before being defeated by Tuberville.

Jones battled multiple opponents for the nomination including Will Boyd, a businessman and engineer who became the first African-American majority-party nominee for U.S. Senate in Alabama in 2022. He previously ran as the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2018 and U.S. Congress in 2016.

Jamel Brown is a pastor and a Montgomery community activist who has run for Montgomery City Council in the past.

Yolanda Flowers serves as a youth director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Flowers was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2022.

Chad “Chig” Martin is a business owner who established Alabama’s first hemp dispensary, the Honeysuckle Hemp Company. He refers to his campaign as “The Citizens-Driven Movement.”

Nathan Mathis is a former member of Alabama’s House of Representatives. He most-recently ran for Alabama State Senate District 29, losing to Sen. Donnie Chesteen (R).

PRIMARY COVERAGE

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!