A new statewide poll has former U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) 13 points behind U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) with less than five weeks to go until the November general election.
The survey has Tuberville at 50% and Jones at 37%.
Napolitan News Service, the polling operation founded by veteran pollster Scott Rasmussen, conducted it September 21-25 for Alabama Policy Action. It sampled 800 registered voters in Alabama and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.
Jones is polling below his 2020 result. Tuberville beat him that year 60.1% to 39.7% and took his seat in the U.S. Senate.
He has also lost ground since summer. A July survey showed Jones at 41% and trailing by eight points.
In August, Jones went on a social media tirade, saying, “At a minimum, I want to stop the CHOOSE Act in its tracks.” He has called for cutting off new applications and phasing the program out.
Alabama voters were asked about the CHOOSE Act in the new poll.
Told that the law makes education savings accounts available to every family beginning in 2027, 75% said they favor it and 15% said they oppose it. Asked whether the $7,000 accounts now limited to military, special needs and low-income families should be extended to all families, 70% said yes and 16% said no.
Governor Kay Ivey signed the CHOOSE Act in 2024. More than 34,000 Alabama students have been approved for it this school year.
Tuberville wants to expand the law and released a campaign ad in September attacking Jones for opposing it.
“I can’t believe anybody would be against it,” Tuberville said of the CHOOSE Act in an interview with the Trussville Tribune this month.
Stephanie Smith is the executive director of Alabama Policy Action, the conservative advocacy group that commissioned the survey.
“These numbers clearly show that Alabama voters remain deeply committed to conservative leadership and are overwhelmingly united behind expanding educational opportunities for every child in our state,” Smith said.
“Support for universal school choice through the CHOOSE Act transcends typical political divides, proving that parents and taxpayers of all demographics want flexibility and empowerment in education.”
The rest of the Democratic ticket is further behind. U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) leads Democrat Everett Wiss 54% to 33% for U.S. Senate.
Republican John Wahl leads State Rep. Phillip Ensler (D-Montgomery) 49% to 33% for Lieutenant Governor.
The general election is November 3 – now nearly a month away.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
