A legislative session riddled with controversy, key local elections and the launch of several major campaign bids—2025 was as newsworthy a year as they come. Here are the biggest stories I had the opportunity to cover for APR over the past 365 days.
Cheriogotis defeats Drummond to become next mayor of Mobile
Among Alabama’s most important local elections this year was the race for Mobile mayor, with current Mayor Sandy Stimpson vacating the seat in 2026. A crowded general election in August ultimately precipitated a runoff between Democratic state Representative Barbara Drummond and former District Judge Spiro Cheriogotis. Despite Drummond finishing first in the general and generating sizable grassroots support, Cheriogotis—backed by large donations from corporations and PACs—was able to eke out a slim margin of victory in the runoff, defeating his opponent with 51.4 percent of the vote.
Cheriogotis pledged to continue Mayor Stimpson’s legacy in office, having received the outgoing mayor’s endorsement ahead of the runoff.
Muslim civil rights group and Doug Jones slam Tuberville over Islamophobic streak
2025 was a pivotal year for Tommy Tuberville’s political career, with the U.S. senator announcing that he would not run for reelection in 2026 and instead launching a campaign to be the next governor of Alabama. Soon after Tuberville announced his candidacy, the senator began making public comments attacking the American Muslim community—comments which quickly gained criticism from civil rights advocacy groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR.
In June, Tuberville warned that any Democratic voters who might move from a blue state to Alabama if he were elected governor shouldn’t expect a “free lunch… because you’re not gonna be welcome if you bring that Communist, Islamic atmosphere with you.”
Tuberville went on to post increasingly-Islamophobic comments to his X account as the year went on, claiming that allowing Muslims to immigrate to the U.S. would turn the country into the “United Caliphate of America” and declaring that Islam isn’t a religion, but a “cult.” The senator also introduced two pieces of legislation aimed at kneecapping “Sharia law” in the U.S. and involved himself in a campaign of anti-Muslim hate that led the Islamic Academy of Alabama, an Islamic K-12 private school, to cancel its planned relocation from Homewood to Hoover over safety concerns.
Ultimately, Tuberville’s anti-Muslim attacks earned him the unique distinction of being the first U.S. senator to be placed on CAIR’s list of “anti-Muslim extremists” in December. I subsequently spoke with former U.S. Senator Doug Jones—Tuberville’s Democratic opponent in the governor’s race—who condemned his opponent’s behavior, calling the senator’s comments “horrible” and referring to Tuberville as a “divider-in-chief” who has “religious bigotry running through [his] blood.”
Prison reform advocate goes on hunger strike; family fights for transparency from ADOC
Throughout 2025, Alabama’s prison system continued to face heavy scrutiny, with a new documentary entitled “The Alabama Solution” bringing renewed attention to the harsh conditions the state’s incarcerated population faces at the hands of the Alabama Department of Corrections.
In November, an ADOC correctional officer assaulted incarcerated prison reform advocate Kenneth Shaun Traywick—also known as “Swift Justice”—leading Traywick to embark on a hunger strike, demanding a meeting with ADOC Commissioner John Hamm and other reforms.
Traywick’s strike lasted at least five weeks, with food intake reportedly resuming just before this article went out for publication. While Traywick’s wife and Unheard Voices of the Concrete Jungle, UVOTCJ—a nonprofit Traywick helped cofound in 2017—have had some communication with ADOC, the family continues to express deep concerns over ADOC’s lack of transparency concerning Traywick’s health status.
As of publication, ADOC has yet to confirm whether Commissioner Hamm has any plans to meet with Traywick or if ADOC plans to address the alleged shortcomings, which led Traywick to go on strike in the first place.
Morgan Murphy launches U.S. Senate campaign in the image of Tommy Tuberville
In a year full of campaign launches, I had the opportunity to speak with one of several candidates running to fill the U.S. Senate seat held by Senator Tommy Tuberville in 2026 as Tuberville seeks Alabama’s governorship.
That list includes former Tuberville adviser, Naval captain, food critic and chief of public diplomacy for the Special Presidential Envoy to Ukraine, Morgan Murphy.
During our conversation, Murphy pledged to take up Tuberville’s mantle in the Senate, praised the Trump administration’s mass-deportation agenda, and voiced his support for the deployment of National Guardsmen in American cities—including any potential deployments in Alabama.
Murphy also reflected on his controversial involvement in Tuberville’s blockade of over 400 military appointments in 2023—an action he said he does not regret taking part in, despite resigning as Tuberville’s national security adviser shortly after his involvement in the blockade was brought to light by The Washington Post.
Murphy will face off against four other GOP candidates in a crowded Republican primary in May, including U.S. Representative Barry Moore, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson and businessman Rodney Walker.
Vincent woman launches GoFundMe to help retire her grandfather; receives overwhelming support
One of my last stories of the year ended up being one of my most impactful. After catching wind of a GoFundMe started by a 22-year-old single mother from Vincent, Alabama, who wanted to help her 86-year-old grandfather retire from his job pushing carts and bagging groceries at the local Piggly Wiggly, I reached out for an interview.
Candice Lash told me about her grandfather Tom, and how after taking eight years off of work to care for his ailing wife, he became saddled with immense medical debt, pushing him back into the workforce and robbing him of a well-deserved retirement.
I wasn’t the only one moved by Candice and Tom’s story—after publishing our interview, Candice’s GoFundMe campaign skyrocketed, with generous donations pouring in from all around the country. When Candice and I spoke, the campaign had garnered around $10,000—it now sits at over $115,000 at the time of this article’s publication.
