His name is Donald J. Trump. Those counties alone made up for his losses in much of rural Alabama. mid an unprecedented number of early votes cast in the 2020 election cycle. More than 66 million votes have already been cast, with no sign that that record breaking pace will let up. “Most absentee ballots in the past have been by mail. Senator Jones's campaign accepted. And Tuberville won handily, pulling in 61 percent of the vote. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Jones won Jefferson County by more than 83,000 votes, despite winning the whole state by just 22,000. Senator Doug Jones is the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the chamber. Fundraising profile for Sen. Doug Jones - Alabama. Jones won a historically close special election in 2017 as his opponent, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, faced allegations over past interactions with young women. Doug Jones is a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate. James Rhodes on Election Night 2020 Ends at Midnight With No Clear Winner for President; James Rhodes on Order of the Day: November 3, 2020; Alabama Senator Doug Jones Holds the Key to Victory in 2020 for Democrats in the United States Senate June 23, 2020. Please make checks out to Doug Jones for Senate and mail to PO Box 131025 Birmingham, AL 35213 Tuberville only lost three counties in that race. But those two counties also both tend to vote Democratic. But the words “Democrat” and “Republican” meant something different back then. Former college football coach Tommy Tuberville has recaptured a U.S. Senate seat for Republicans by defeating Sen. Doug Jones in Alabama Via AP news wire Wednesday 04 November 2020 03:12 Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who lost by 20 points to Republican Tommy Tuberville last week, blamed getting tied … He won Montgomery County by nearly 31,000. Not everybody has a printer or a scanner at their home, and so that is burden number one. Even so, Tuberville is widely expected to defeat Jones and Donald Trump is all but certain to win Alabama decisively on 3 November. About 1.3 million people voted in that election, and Jones won by just 22,000 votes. I think there are so many people that stayed home, that thought that Hillary Clinton was going to win, or that their vote just didn’t count,” Jones said. Senator Jeff Sessions got more votes in 2014 despite running unopposed. Email Ramsey Archibald at rarchibald@al.com, and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Those numbers get more interesting when you look at how Tuberville performed in those counties in this year’s GOP runoff. if you remember, tuberville beat out former united states attorney general jeff sessions in a runoff election in july. Those states were required to seek federal permission because of a history of enforcing voter requirements that dramatically affected minorities. Despite running unopposed as a sitting president, he got more votes in the presidential primary this year than all Democratic presidential candidates combined. “You know, I always say this election is a battle for the soul of our country. That’s already a tough scenario for Jones, and those counties make up just 34 percent of the state’s population - and the rest of the counties Jones can count on are mostly very small. “I just think it took the election of Donald Trump to see how much their vote counts. He was elected in 2017 and took office in 2018. Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? The 652,000 votes earned by Moore was the lowest tally for a Republican in an Alabama U.S. Senate race since at least 1996. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo) Facebook Locate us at Campaign HQ! Asked if he was surprised about the record turnout across the state and elsewhere, Jones said he was not. It was the only c… Republicans had made taking back the once reliably conservative seat a priority in 2020. “You know, the thing about the Voting Rights Act it’s … you know … there’s a lot of different things you can look at it as, you know, who’s it going to help? 2020 presidential election; Election results, 2020; Overview; U.S. Congress; U.S. Congress special elections; Governors; State … Amid an unprecedented number of early votes cast in the 2020 election cycle, Alabama senator Doug Jones is staking his electoral fortunes on framing his re-election campaign around the threat to voting rights, especially in his native deep south. Republican Tommy Tuberville has defeated Sen. Doug Jones, flipping an Alabama Senate seat that was widely considered to be among the most vulnerable in the chamber in 2020. 1. As of 2021, he is the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, delivers his concession speech Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, during his election night watch party in Birmingham, Ala. Jones lost to Republican Tommy Tuberville. Even with all that, Jones predicted that Alabama would see “a record number of absentee ballots cast in this election”. Gordon Douglas Jones (born May 4, 1954) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from Alabama from 2018 to 2021. Doug Jones may refer to: Doug Jones (Alabama) Doug Jones (Mississippi) This disambiguation page lists articles with similar titles. That ruling struck down a core provision of the law which required nine states to seek federal approval before changing their election laws. One was Wilcox County, a sparsely populated, heavily Democratic county in Alabama’s Black Belt, where just 600 people voted in the runoff and where Sessions grew up. All posts tagged “Doug Jones” Oct. 27, 2020. Jones’s re-election campaign has also turned the clip of Tuberville’s comments into digital media ads. Fundraising profile for Sen. Doug Jones - Alabama. He won a special election in 2017 against Roy S. Moore, a Republican accused of … “It’s not that he couldn’t articulate a stance, he couldn’t articulate what the hell it is,” Jones said in an interview with the Guardian. An 11 October poll conducted by Fm3 Research on behalf of the Jones campaign showing the senator leading Tuberville by one percentage point. Read more Alabama data stories here. | PO Box 131025, Birmingham, AL 35213 Contributing by check? “Not to mention the fact that it has to go through the mails, come back to you with the ballot, and then you have to take the ballot, mark the ballot, put it in their special envelope then put that envelope in another envelope that has to be signed by you exactly the way it is on the voting rolls. What we’re seeing in Alabama is that early voting can work if they could use the technology to streamline it and just make it early voting, I think that could help a lot. Jones has repeatedly bashed retired coach Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee for Jones’s seat, for failing to offer a concise position on the Voting Rights Act. About 551,000 people voted in the runoff this year - roughly 100,000 fewer than voted for Moore in 2017. Jones topped Moore by 1.7 points, 50 percent to 48.3 percent. Jones earned around 674,000 total votes in 2017, the lowest total by a winning Alabama candidate for U.S. Senate since 1986 - when Shelby eked out his first term against Jeremiah Denton by just 7,000 votes. And to do that you’ve got to get an application from the secretary of state or your local election official, fill out the application – which in and of itself is not too difficult – but then you’ve got to make a photocopy of your photo ID and send that along. In other words, if Jones is going to have a chance to keep his seat, he’ll have to win handily in Alabama’s big cities, and especially in the state’s four most populous counties - Jefferson, Mobile, Madison and Montgomery. He’s been dinging his opponent over comments about a landmark voting law and he’s arguing that in an age of high partisanship in America there’s a path for lawmakers to reinforce national voting laws. Sep. 21, 2020. The Senate Races Where Democrats Have An Edge In The Polls By Geoffrey Skelley. Jones ran up the score in many of Alabama’s urban centers. Trump is still very popular in Alabama. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Jones, a rare Democratic senator in a red southern state, has been sounding the alarm on his state’s burdensome voting restrictions. Statewide Offices ‐ General Election Results November 3, 2020 Joseph R. Biden (D) Donald J. Trump (R) Jo Jorgensen (I) Write‐In Doug Jones (D) Tommy Tuberville (R) Write‐In President And Vice President Of The United States United States Senator He won Jefferson County, the most populous county in Alabama and home to Birmingham, by more than 83,000 votes. He won Madison County by nearly 20,000 votes, and Mobile by nearly 17,000. Now, as he’s running for re-election in a year where there’s both high voter participation across the country and an active discussion about barriers to voting, Jones is sounding the alarm on Alabama’s own voting requirements. “I think now what we’ve seen is an interest to make sure their votes count because it does matter.”, Why Amy Coney Barrett's addition to supreme court may undermine climate fight, America's protest crackdown: five months after George Floyd, hundreds face trials and prison, Doug Jones in Washington in September. When the votes are counted and either Tommy Tuberville or Doug Jones are declared the winner in Alabama’s U.S. Senate race on Tuesday night, it will be the end of one of the most unique statewide elections in decades. Sen. Doug Jones, R-Alabama, becomes emotional near the end of his concession speech Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, during his election night watch party in Birmingham, Ala. Jones lost to Republican Tommy Tuberville. “And I think voting across the country needs to be a little bit more uniform. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/21). But there are some points of comparison between Jones' 2017 victory and Tuberville’s primary runoff win against Sessions earlier this year - especially when looking at margins within individual counties. Most polling has found Tuberville leading Jones in the traditionally conservative state by double digits. What Happened to Doug Jones? The political landscape has shifted since the 1990s, making it difficult to find direct comparisons for the current race. And there’s another thing - or person - working in Tuberville’s favor. ian: we’re just hours from election day 2020. other than presidential candidates, who else will we see on the ballot? And a special election held in a vacuum and an election with Donald Trump on the ballot couldn’t be more different. During a 1 September appearance with service organizations in Alabama, Tuberville was asked whether he supported extending the Voting Rights Act. © 2021 Advance Local Media LLC. “I think it’s important that everything we do we keep secure.”. Jones will need to find some votes elsewhere, or else Alabama will have a new senator. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., faces voters in 2020 in what is likely to be a very different voting dynamic than his 2017 special election win. Since 2002, Alabama Republican candidates for U.S. Senate average 1.3 million votes in presidential election years, and just 850,000 in years without a presidential election. That’s less than the number of write-in ballots cast during that election - 23,000. Jones himself benefited from high turnout in 2017 and unprecedented enthusiasm from African American voters in the state. Tuberville's campaign agreed to fill out the non-political questionnaire, but declined an interview. While high-ranking state lawmakers in other states have taken steps to compensate for voting during an ongoing global pandemic, the Alabama secretary of state, John Merrill, has refrained from easing voting restrictions although he has allowed county courthouses to take early absentee votes. A A. U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat who pulled off a stunning political upset in Alabama two years ago, launched his reelection bid Sunday, seeking to create another Deep South victory in a Republican-dominated state. What direction do we need to go with it?” Tuberville said. Sen. Doug Jones, R-Alabama, becomes emotional near the end of his concession speech Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, during his election night watch party in Birmingham, Ala. Jones lost to … Jones finds himself running for re-election in a year that’s seen record turnout in early voting, in part because of the pandemic. That’s not including 2017, which was an anomaly in Alabama. Moore was such a controversial figure that many moderate Republicans stayed home or wrote in different candidates. Still, some frustration is bubbling up in the Senate as well. “I need Doug’s help in the Senate,” Biden said in an emailed statement. Before several hundred cheering supporters in Birmingham, Jones kicked off his 2020 … The other two were Mobile and Madison. It’s incredibly burdensome.”. “The fact of the matter is Alabama has just a really burdensome absentee ballot process,” Jones said. Alabama senator sounds alarm over state’s voting restrictions and calls for new extension of the Voting Rights Act, Last modified on Tue 15 Dec 2020 09.29 EST. That low turnout is one of the many factors that makes comparing 2017 to 2020 difficult. | Butch Dill/AP Photo By BURGESS EVERETT and JAMES ARKIN 05/03/2020 06:45 AM EDT A mid an unprecedented number of early votes cast in the 2020 election cycle, Alabama senator Doug Jones is staking his electoral fortunes on framing his re-election … Biden previously praised Jones ahead of the election, saying he needs “Doug’s voice in the Senate,” if he is elected president. His biggest loss came in Madison, where he lost by around 5,000 votes. There are three serious GOP challengers for the Senate seat that Jones stole in 2017. Also, 1992 marked the last time Alabama had a sitting Democratic senator face reelection during a presidential election. But the Democratic vote totals in each of those years was fairly similar, with Jones pulling 149,000 votes, compared to around 159,000 for Obama and 156,000 for Clinton. 4500 5th Ave. S, Building L Birmingham, AL 35222 M-F: 9am-5pm Sat: 11am-4pm Sun: 12pm-5pm ©2020 Doug Jones for Senate. His response suggested he had no idea what the law is. ‘The fact of the matter is Alabama has just a really burdensome absentee ballot process.’. For one thing, the state has a Democratic incumbent senator - the first time that’s happened since 1992. In 2016, with Trump on the ballot, Richard Shelby earned 1.34 million votes, the most by any Alabama candidate for U.S. Senate since at least 1986. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. How Alabama went from a blue state to a red one, presidential primary this year than all Democratic presidential candidates combined, Jefferson County by just 22,000 votes in 2016. He defeated former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) in the U.S. Senate special election in Alabama on December 12, 2017. And I think that would get the numbers up, which is the goal for everybody,” Jones said. If Tuberville is truly unpopular in those counties, and the reverse is true for Jones, the state’s sitting Senator could make some headway. All of that, Jones continued, is an example of how unnecessarily difficult voting can be in Alabama. for senate, it’s between incumbent democratic senator doug jones, and republican candidate tommy tuberville. It was the Republicans staying home in 2017, more than the Democrats getting out, that made the difference for Jones. Former U.S. Jones also won in Mobile and Madison counties, which tend to vote more conservatively. Election 2020 Alabama Senate FILE - In this July 10, 2019, file photo, Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., arrives for a closed door meeting for Senators on election security on Capitol Hill in Washington. ... 2020 elections. Jones, the Alabama Democrat who was elected to his Senate seat in a 2017 upset race, is also calling for a new extension of the Voting Rights Act, the set of voting protections that were gutted in a ruling by the United States supreme court seven years ago. But one thing does seem fairly clear - Doug Jones is facing an uphill battle. Note: The original version of this post stated that Sen. Doug Jones was elected in 2018. About 1.3 million people voted in that election, and Jones won by just 22,000 votes. See also: United States Senate special election in Alabama, 2017 Former U.S. attorney Doug Jones (D) defeated former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) in the general election on December 12, 2017. Doug James, the impeachment socialist Democrat who only got elected because Roy Moore ran as the GOP candidate (and election fraud) is a dead man walking in 2020. But there are only two county courthouses in Jefferson county, where the senator lives, which has, Jones said, effectively acted as yet another impediment to voting. The Democrat on the ballot in ’92 was none other than Richard Shelby, who switched parties in 1994 and hasn’t left office since. The state has already beat previous records and there are still days before the actual election. Sen. Doug Jones sits down with ABC 33/40 before the 2020 election – VIDEO | Doug Jones Jones has been contrasting Tuberville’s remarks with his own position on the Voting Rights Act. That’s less than the number of write-in ballots cast during that election - 23,000. Alabama Sen. Doug Jones faces perhaps the most difficult Senate re-election fight in the country. Tuberville lost Mobile County by around 1,600 votes. In few places are those stakes as clear as in Alabama.” All rights reserved (About Us). And, Jones said, if every step isn’t followed correctly, “that ballot is shoved aside and is likely not counted”. Jones is the heavy underdog in the race. Filed under 2020 Election. A Democrat, he was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 1997 to 2001. Roy Moore was one of the most unpopular Republican candidates in Alabama election history by the time votes were cast, the numbers show. Jones was aided by an extraordinarily low turnout on the other side. 1.1. “I think they should do everything they can to get it extended,” Jones said. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Former college football coach Tommy Tuberville on Tuesday recaptured a U.S. Senate seat for Republicans by defeating Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, who had widely been considered the Senate’s most endangered Democrat. For comparison, Hillary Clinton won Jefferson County by just 22,000 votes in 2016, and Barack Obama won it by just 18,000 in 2012. November 10, 2020 at 3:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment. Which is not necessarily your usual signature, but the way you are on the voting rolls, and then you’ve got to have two people witness it or whatever.