By Andrea Tinker, Kentucky Lantern · May 21, 2026

BIRMINGHAM — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Wednesday gave his backing to Doug Jones a day after the former U.S. senator won the Democratic primary for governor. 

Speaking to a small group of around 20 people, Beshear, who chairs the Democratic Governors’ Association, said having a Democratic governor in Alabama is possible.

“The way we can win in Alabama is like we win in Kentucky by recognizing that most people just aren’t that political, they don’t wake up thinking about the next political race, they wake up thinking about their job and whether they can afford the things their family needs,” he said. “They wake up thinking about their next doctor’s appointment and how far they’re going to have to drive to get there. They think about those roads and ridges, they think about the school they drop their kids off at, and whether they feel safe in their community.”

Beshear did not pledge specific financial help for Jones’ campaign. The gubernatorial nominee, elected to the U.S. Senate in 2017, is the most recent Democrat to win a statewide election in Alabama. The last Democratic candidate to win a gubernatorial race was Don Siegelman in 1998. 

Before Beshear started his speech, Jones praised Democrats for making their way to the polls in increased numbers.

“We increased the numbers of Democratic votes in the primary significantly by 15% or more, and we did that without spending a lot of money. Most of the Democratic money was spent on yard signs over the last few months,” Jones said. “The other side of this race in the Republican primary, they spent millions of dollars in media, in both TV, radio, social media, millions of dollars, and they underperformed by 25% with really contested faces.”

Several Democratic counties in the state saw an increase in voter turnout on Tuesday.

In Jefferson County, the Alabama Secretary of State reported a 26.58% voter turnout and 130,648 ballots cast. That was up from 22.35% in voter turnout and the 107,890 ballots cast in 2022. 

Republican voter turnout decreased during this year’s election.

Baldwin County’s turnout dropped from 20.68% in 2022 to 19.23% on Tuesday. Cullman County went from a 28.69% voter turnout two years ago to 25.10% voter turnout this year. Shelby County’s voter turnout was 21.90% for Tuesday, a decrease from the 23.72% voter turnout in 2022.

Jones will face U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee, in the fall election. 

According to campaign finance filings, as of Wednesday afternoon,Jones has raised $2.3 million for the race and spent $1.2 million. Tuberville has raised $12.9 million and spent $3.7 million.  

But Jones said he’s confident in his ability to win the general election.

“Look at the numbers that I got in 2020 when I lost to Tommy Tuberville. It was 920,000 votes. That’s enough votes to win any governor’s race in the history of this state. That alone, those folks have already voted for Doug Jones once. We think they’ll vote again,” he said.

Beshear added that Democrats have been winning in areas that were previously held by Republicans across the nation.

“People are seeing right now that party isn’t the most important thing. Having someone in charge that will fight for them, that will make life just a little bit better, a little bit easier,” he said.

During Tuberville’s election night event in Birmingham, he said “I’m running against people that I don’t know if they believe in God anymore.” Beshear criticized the comment.

“The way that Tuberville is weaponizing religion means he’s trying to add asterisks, exceptions, or a comma, unless,” Beshear said. “He’s trying to say love your neighbor as yourself, comma, unless they look different, pray different, or vote different than you do. Accept one another as Christ accepted you, comma, unless they’re in the other party. Judge not, lest you be judged, unless you want to judge them. I mean, the actual use of faith is supposed to be lifting people up and not kicking them while they’re down.”

Beshear and Jones also discussed the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which has sparked redistricting battles across the South.

“It is time for a-fix-the-darn-country constitutional amendment, where we outlaw partisan redistricting, where we re-enshrine parts of that Voting Rights Act, where we overturn Citizens United, where we actually make real solutions that help our system function the way it was supposed to,” Beshear said.

Jones said if elected, he also wants to make a constitutional amendment to address partisan gerrymandering.

“This is not just affecting minority communities, it’s going to affect everybody, and what we’re seeing as a in a shameful Supreme Court is taking away rights left and right from all manner of citizens, and so we’re going to make a point of arguing to the merit of the Alabama people that we should have a constitutional amendment to prevent that,” Jones said.