Doug Jones told reporters after 11 p.m. Tuesday that he would not concede the 2026 race for Governor of Alabama to U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), who led by more than 90,000 votes with all 67 counties reporting.
“So I think the victory speech was a little premature,” Jones said.
Asked whether he would consider running again, he said: “I’m still not convinced I’m not going to be the governor yet. So let’s just kind of take things a step at a time.”
.@DougJones: "I'm still not convinced I'm not gonna be the governor yet."
This is insane. Montgomery has reported all 52 precincts. Jefferson’s remaining 82 precincts are Hoover, Vestavia, Mountain Brook and Trussville. Tuberville leads by 91,823. About 145,000 ballots are left.… https://t.co/V2PTCSYhEY
— Grayson Everett (@Grayson270) November 4, 2026
Tuberville led 813,049 to 719,623, 53% to 47%, with 1,913 of the state’s 2,002 precincts counted. Jones said earlier in the night he was watching Jefferson and Montgomery counties.
However, the math is simply not there.
Montgomery County had reported all 52 precincts an hour before Jones spoke, which he carried with 75.2% among 80,303 ballots. No votes remain there.
A minuscule outstanding vote is in Jefferson County, where 82 of 178 precincts have not yet reported. The 96 that had were the Birmingham city precincts, which gave Jones 80.5%. The 82 remaining are Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Trussville and Gardendale, about 145,000 ballots. To overcome a 93,000-vote deficit from 145,000 ballots, Jones needs 119,000 of them, or 82%.
Those precincts gave Governor Kay Ivey a majority in 2022. Mountain Brook City Hall gave her 78%. Shelby County, fully counted, gave Tuberville 57.6% in the same kind of suburbs. Jones’ best share of Jefferson County in any race was 69.3% in 2017, against Roy Moore, with Birmingham included. At 65% of the remaining suburban vote, he would gain 43,000.
Jones acknowledged the deficit.
“I don’t know if I would say confidence because we are in a deficit, certainly. But we see the numbers. We see what we’ve done. We have analyzed that,” he said.
He said the race would finish close.
“We have narrowed what I call narrow the gap in so many of the counties that have voted with Republicans down the line by 20, 25 points, and we have narrowed that by 20 points or better,” Jones said. “This is going to end up being a very close race, one way or another. It’s going to be a very close race. Something that no, including none of you guys, ever expected, and that is a huge accomplishment.”
Asked what Alabama could expect from him Wednesday morning, Jones said: “I don’t know what they can expect because there’s still votes that have not been counted. You can expect that once the votes are counted, that somebody will win and somebody will not win.”
He criticized the pace of the count and called for early voting, while saying he did not suspect fraud.
“We are the slowest state in the country, and that just doesn’t make any sense to me,” Jones said. “It’s not a concern that there is a fraud or anything like that. It’s just crazy that we’re in this position with every other state around us swallowing these races left and right.”
Tuberville claimed victory before 10:30 p.m.
“Standing here, I’m reminded of what I tell my team when we won: Winning is not an accident. Winning is a decision, and tonight Alabama decided to win,” Tuberville said.
Governor-Elect Tuberville Gives Victory Speech https://t.co/2XYJbSwaWX
— Tommy Tuberville (@CoachForGov) November 4, 2026
He acknowledged the Democrat turnout that cost Republicans Madison, Mobile and Tuscaloosa counties and four seats in the Legislature.
“Tonight’s victory is because you love Alabama and love United States of America in the face of blue waves, which we’ve had tonight, unfortunately,” Tuberville said. “This staff has stood up to the pressure and said, ‘None in my Alabama.’ And I guarantee you this: I and we will not let you down.”
He spoke to voters who chose Jones.
“And to the folks who didn’t vote for me, listen. I’m going to be your governor too, and a lot of you didn’t vote for me. I don’t understand why, but honestly, at this point, I don’t care who you voted for, because we have to work and a lot of work to do,” Tuberville said. “My goal isn’t just to help one group; it’s to help all.”
Jones won the 2017 special election for U.S. Senate by 21,924 votes over Moore. Moore refused to concede for two weeks and asked a court to block certification. Jones at the time called on him to accept the result.
Tuberville’s margin is the smallest for a Republican nominee for governor since Bob Riley defeated Don Siegelman by 3,120 votes in 2002.
Siegelman conceded after a recount in Baldwin County. Jones trails by roughly 30 times that margin.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
