The Alabama Democratic Party appears to have its act together.
Stop giggling. Don’t roll your eyes.
In perhaps one of the most important election years in recent history—one in which voters even in red states are quickly and emphatically turning away from Republican candidates—the Alabama Democrats are looking like a viable, functioning and competitive party. There are good, quality candidates up and down the ballot. There is a plan that everyone seems to be following. And there is legitimate, organic enthusiasm.
“I’ve done a number of things across the state, meeting with folks and having different fundraisers and events over the last few years, but this is different,” former U.S. Senator Doug Jones said during an interview on the Alabama Politics This Week podcast. “This (Jones’ launch party last Friday) was palpable. This was an excitement that I hadn’t seen really since December 12th of 2017 when we won that Senate race. And it has been building. I think people have been frustrated. People are concerned as much as anything. And they see the possibility of winning in November for the first time in over 25 years.”
Jones is expected to sit at the top of the ticket—assuming he wins the Democratic primary, where he’ll be heavily favored—for a general election that appears to be a rematch between him and current Senator Tommy Tuberville. That’s assuming that both the Alabama Republican Party and state judges ignore clear Alabama law and turn a blind eye to the fact that Tuberville doesn’t live in the state.
Regardless, Tuberville v. Jones would make for one attention-getting gubernatorial race. Jones is the only Democrat to win a statewide election in the last dozen years and Tuberville, while popular among the ultra-right of ALGOP, is one of the most divisive and unliked major party candidates in state history.
But the ticket doesn’t stop there for the Democrats, who in more recent years have fielded one uncompetitive ticket after another in statewide elections. The 2026 election, though, will be different.
Ron Sparks, one of the most popular and respected commissioners of agriculture in state history, is expected to run for Ag Commissioner. State Representative Phillip Ensler, who announced earlier this year that he won’t seek reelection, is planning to run for lieutenant governor. And there are rumors of other well known names set to file for attorney general and secretary of state.
But perhaps more importantly—and more troubling for Republicans—is the fact that Democrats have not stopped at the top. Up and down the ballot, in districts identified as winnable or challengeable, the party has found a slate of very likeable, very relatable candidates. Military veterans, community leaders, city or county elected officials and union members.
In the current national climate, where Democrats are over-performing from 2024 by 10-15 points, Alabama Democrats have positioned themselves—at least so far—to take advantage of the swing. And should the economy under Donald Trump continue to falter, and should healthcare costs rise anywhere close to projections after Republicans killed subsidies, the problems for Republicans, even in deep red Alabama, could grow.
Of course, there is one other issue that could trip up Alabama Democrats—the issue that has plagued them for years now.
Self immolation.
The bickering and in-fighting that has long plagued ADP has been well documented and undeniable. That is particularly true in regards to Jones and the two leaders of the ADP—longtime puppet master Joe Reed and current ADP chairman Randy Kelley.
In 2019, Jones led an effort to change the leadership of ADP and lessen Reed’s stranglehold on the party by rewriting the party’s bylaws to bring them more in line with the Democratic National Committee’s guidelines. He was successful, and had the backing of the national party, but the fallout has been widespread and all encompassing at times.
Kelley, Reed and Jones have spent the last several years hurling insults at each other and blaming each other for various issues. The insults have been, at times, very pointed, particularly coming from Kelley and directed at Jones.
Asked about that history and how they could possibly work together this election cycle, Jones said the two sides have decided to set aside differences and work independently of each other—and without interfering with each other—to do what’s best for the party and fellow Democrats.
“I’m not gonna deny, obviously, that there has been some issues between us,” Jones said. “But I’m also one of those persons that know that when you make the decision to run for an office like this, governor of Alabama, … one of the first things I did was to go down there and visit with the Democratic Party leadership to sit down and talk. Not to come out of the meeting singing kumbaya, but to just talk, to tell them my vision for Alabama, my vision for trying to help gather folks and help Democrats up and down the ticket.
“I let them talk and have a very frank discussion with me on some things, just clear the air on some issues that I think I may have misunderstood and that they may have misunderstood. So we’re gonna build a statewide campaign and we’re gonna do it with a lot of Democrats from one end of the state to the other.”
Someone very close with Reed told me that Jones’ statements accurately reflect the arrangement. Party leadership will not interfere in any primary and will offer full support for all candidates, including Jones, in the general election.
Additionally, another source said there have been serious discussions about Kelley stepping down this summer. Kelley has talked about stepping away for some time now, according to multiple sources. That would open the door for another executive director who might have less animosity towards Jones, and who could guide the party through the election after the primary.
Regardless, though, in recent interviews, Kelley also has stuck to the party line and pledged that the party under his leadership would support Jones if he’s the Democratic nominee.
It all sets up a very interesting and encouraging situation, in which the state has two viable, functioning parties. It has Democratic candidates on the campaign trail pushing policies and ideas to groups of voters who are suddenly more open to listening. It has an Alabama Democratic Party that is building for the future, creating name recognition for young candidates and generating donors and volunteer groups that can be built upon for many election cycles to come.
If this keeps up, Alabama could be on the verge of being a two-party state, where candidates have to present ideas for governing and actually address the needs and interests of all voters, instead of tiny pockets of base supporters. Imagine, a government that actually might work for everyone instead of a handful of elites.
