Craig Jelks, a local Alabama educator who previously ran for mayor of Charleston, South Carolina in 2011, says he is strongly considering running as an independent for U.S. Senate in 2026.
A Birmingham native, Jelks interned for former U.S. Senator Richard Shelby in 2002 before going on to pursue a career in education. In 2019, Jelks was nominated for the National History Teacher of the Year Award and in 2023 was named Mountain Brook City Schools Secondary District Teacher of the Year.
Jelks holds degrees from both Howard and Columbia University, and has pursued additional studies at the University of Oxford.
Jelks last threw his hat in the political arena in 2011, when he ran against then-Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. at only 29 years old. Now, back in his home state of Alabama, Jelks is considering taking another stab at running for political office—this time as an independent U.S. Senate candidate.
“I have a wife and three daughters, and like most working families, man, it’s painful seeing grocery bills go higher and higher, and then it becomes frustrating when you realize the political leaders aren’t interested in helping, but are focused on scoring political points instead,” Jelks told APR in a recent interview discussing his potential Senate bid. “I see people are disgusted with both the Democrats and Republicans, so if I decide to run, it would be as an independent.”
While Jelks says he would run as an independent, he did note that he leans conservative on several issues, including opposing both gay marriage and what he views as an attempt by Democratic politicians to “redefine” gender. But Jelks also views the current Republican Party as having abandoned many of its own conservative principles.
“I do want to say that even though I’m independent I lean conservative,” said Jelks. “For example, I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman and no law can change that, I believe that it’s God’s law.”
“And even though the Democratic Party has some soul searching to do, so does the Republican Party. They moved away from their conservative principles. I mean, when we’re advocating for the Big Beautiful Bill that balloons the deficit, what happened to fiscally conservative principles? The Republican Party has a lot of soul searching to do as well,” Jelks added. “And certainly the Democrats, when you want to redefine what a man and woman is, that is remarkably troubling. And so that’s where I find myself in the column of an independent, and I think that will appeal to a lot of people.”
Jelks went on to emphasize his distaste for Alabama’s current senior U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, whose seat Jelks would be running to fill if he does ultimately join the race. In Jelks’ view, Tuberville’s approach to politics is emblematic of the myriad issues inherent to the current two-party political system.
“The extremists of the two-party system cause political ideology to replace common sense, and our senior senator, Tommy Tuberville, is a primary example of this,” Jelks said. “His formula for helping Alabama is to blame everything on Muslims and DEI. In one of the most embarrassing moments of our state, he couldn’t even name the three branches of government. Our leaders must have integrity and intelligence, and Tuberville lacks both.”
Although Tuberville is declining a reelection bid in 2026 in order to run for governor, Jelks believes that some of the candidates running to fill the senator’s seat are looking to directly emulate Tuberville’s style of politics. If he were to run, Jelks believes he would serve as a viable alternative for Alabamians who don’t align with Tuberville or his allies.
“What’s more troubling is that some of the current frontrunners are positioning themselves to be the next Tommy Tuberville,” Jelks said. “And so, there there appears to be a path for a young, energetic, and independent candidate that would give people a reason to believe we can do better as a state. It’s a narrow path, but I think it’s wide enough for me to squeeze into.”
Jelks said that he is also considering running because of the shortcomings he sees in Alabama’s education system and because of his desire to uplift working families.
“[My campaign] would form around education and working families. Education is important to people and I think education should lead to good-paying work, not just degrees,” Jelks told APR. “I think Alabama needs stronger connections between schools–community college, universities and local employers. So that and families would be my primary concern.”
Jelks also shared his thoughts on recent controversies related to education in the state, including the University of Alabama’s recent suspension of two student-run magazines—Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six—in response to anti-DEI pressure coming from both Montgomery and the Trump administration.
“There’s always a concern when people feel that their First Amendment rights are being encroached upon. I don’t believe that the government should have any place to decide what organizations should be given priority on campus,” Jelks said. “I’m a strong believer in the First Amendment. I’m a strong believer in freedom of speech, no matter what that speech is. Speech can certainly be offensive, but we we don’t get to determine whether or not someone’s speech should be silenced because it offends us, and so it was troubling to hear that these student-run organizations were shut down because they were deemed offensive.”
“I think our misunderstanding of DEI is what’s causing problems,” he continued. “How do we get to the point where the words ‘diversity,’ ‘equity’ and ‘inclusion’ are offensive? And so I think there’s some mis-education that’s going on around those things. But when it comes to student organizations not being able to express how they feel, that’s troubling to me.”
Additionally, Jelks criticized the CHOOSE Act, the controversial legislation that has siphoned hundreds of thousands of dollars away from Alabama’s public schools in favor of subsidizing private institutions.
“The CHOOSE Act is deception. It’s something that we put out in front of Alabamians to [make them] think that we’re moving the ball forward on education, but in fact we’re not,” Jelks said. “When we’re not helping these students of lower socioeconomic status, we’re not helping anyone. And so this is just rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. We lack imagination when it comes to education, we lack creativity when it comes to education, and so I don’t think the CHOOSE Act is helping in any regards to that.”
In addition to having extensive experience in the realm of education policy, Jelks also stressed that his time as an educator has given him the opportunity to interact with people from all walks of life—both in his current role as an academic advisor at Coastal Alabama Community College’s Gulf Shores campus and in his previous roles as an educator in a variety of different classroom settings.
“[My current role] puts me in the position where I’m speaking to a variety of people. Most notably I’ve been talking to some veterans who have been wanting to use their GI benefits to return to the classroom,” Jelks said. “In that position you tend to listen to everyday Alabamians. It’s not just the 18-year-olds and the 19-year-olds, it’s some of those older people that are seeking a different path.”
“I’m not in the classroom at the moment, but I’ve been in the classroom for 18 years,” he added. “I’ve worked in rural, urban, suburban schools. I’ve worked in affluent schools, I’ve worked in Title One schools. Just working with families day-in and day-out would be a huge benefit if I seek to run for the U.S. Senate seat.”
Jelks told APR that he expects to make a final decision on his potential Senate bid by mid-January. If he does run, Jelks will join a crowded field of candidates, with five Republicans and four Democrats already in the race.
