Tuberville declared winner in Alabama governor’s race

Tommy Tuberville officially declared victory over his opponent, Doug Jones, at his campaign's watch party located at the Hotel at Auburn University on November 3. The Republican U.S. senator defeated Democratic nominee Doug Jones, also a former senator, in Tuesday’s general election. Jones conceded Wednesday after Tuberville was declared the winner in Alabama’s governor’s race.

Tuberville will succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, keeping the governor's mansion in GOP hands. He is scheduled to take the governor’s mansion in January. The race marked another statewide showdown between Tuberville and Jones, who previously faced each other in the 2020 election. In that contest, Tuberville defeated then-incumbent Jones by a 20% margin, garnering almost 1.4 million votes to begin his one-term Senate tenure.

Tuberville, a former Auburn football coach from 1999 to 2008, announced his candidacy for governor in May 2025. Earlier in the morning of the election, he cast his vote at a polling location in Auburn at the Church of the Highlands. Later in the afternoon, President Trump reiterated his endorsement of Tuberville in an X post, noting his own repeated presidential wins in Alabama in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Trump emphasized his support for Tuberville’s ability to deliver results for Alabamians and described Jones as a “Radical Left Democrat.”

At the time of Tuberville’s victory speech, Jones had not yet conceded, and the Associated Press called the race two hours later. Jones hosted a similar campaign viewing event for the race at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel in Birmingham. The midterm election placed Republican Tuberville against Democrat Jones for the next governor of Alabama as Ivey faces a two-term limit, making her ineligible to run.