The 2026 United States Senate election in Alabama took place on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Alabama. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tommy Tuberville won election to a second term.
Background[]
In 2020, Tommy Tuberville beat incumbent Democrat Doug Jones 60% to 40%. Jones was already deemed vulnerable, and the only reason he won in the first place was because his previous opponent Roy Moore faced sexual assault allegations. POLITICO described Jones as: "He’s talking and voting as if he’s totally unburdened by the fact that he represents one of the most conservative states in the nation." However, in 2023, Trump Republicans Rick Scott and Mike Lee switched parties due to Mitch McConnell removing their committee assignments. Tuberville was also a Trump supporter, and Trump had previously attacked McConnell as an "old crow". Due to this, Tuberville, along with Senators Jerry Moran and Katie Britt, called Lee and Scott "patriots". Mitch McConnell threatened primary challengers, and the Alabama Republican Party promptly censured Tuberville and Britt. The senators made a deal with Chuck Schumer that got them to switch parties.
Campaign[]
Senator Tuberville had no trouble winning the Democratic nomination for this seat. The Alabama Democratic Party disavowed any Democrat from challenging Tuberville. The only candidate who filed to run against him was Ron Crumpton, a marijuana legalization activist and 2016 senate candidate.
Republicans only had two candidates, former Secretary of State John Merrill, who was supported by most of the Republican establishment, and businessman Tim James. Merrill barely edged out James in the Republican primary runoff.
However, the Republican primary had made Merrill vulnerable, as James attacked him for "being a fake Republican" due to being a former Democrat (he switched parties in 2010). This had gotten parts of the Republican base angry at Merrill, and some members of it decided to endorse Tuberville.
Senator Tuberville touted his conservatism, him "representing the state", and his endorsements from conservative individuals and organizations, while trying to strike a chord with the overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning Black community with support from Terri Sewell, Doug Jones, and Troy Carter.
Endorsements[]
Tommy Tuberville (D)[]
Federal officials[]
- Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States (Republican)
- Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States (Republican)
- Ben Carson, 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Republican)
- Steven Mnuchin, 77th United States Secretary of the Treasury (Republican)
- Betsy DeVos, 11th United States Secretary of Education (Republican)
- John Ratcliffe, 6th Director of National Intelligence (Republican)
- Peter Kinder, former alternate Federal co-Chairman of the Delta Regional Authority (Republican)
- Kelly Craft, 30th U.S Ambassador to the United Nations (Republican)
U.S. Senators[]
- Mike Lee, U.S Senator from Utah
- Rick Scott, U.S Senator from Florida
- Katie Britt, U.S Senator from Alabama
- Jerry Moran, U.S Senator from Kansas
- Doug Jones, former U.S Senator from Alabama
- Donald Set
- Richard Shelby, former U.S Senator from Alabama (Republican)
- Joe Manchin, U.S Senator from West Virginia
- Ben Nelson, former U.S Senator from Nebraska
- Rick Santorum, former U.S Senator from Pennsylvania (Republican)