Running Against History and Expectations

We didn’t mean for this episode to turn into a lesson on furries for Jon Tester, but here we are.Former Sen. Doug Jones is in a rematch against Sen. Tommy Tuberville—this time for governor of Alabama. This is a state that has voted for the Republican nominee in every presidential election going back to 1980, and which Trump won in 2024 with 64.6% of the vote. Even while we were live, Alabamians were in the chat telling us about Trump supporters in their lives who plan to vote for Doug in this race.“It’s kind of that silent majority that we’ve heard so much about in the past, that folks in this era of retribution, they don’t want to put a Doug Jones sign in their yard,” Jones said. “There’s just something that we have felt on the ground. We believe it will translate into a win. I remind people that even in a losing effort in 2020, I got more votes than any Democrats ever gotten in the history of Alabama and enough to win any governor’s race in the history of the state.”Jones point to fielding Democratic candidates for every constitutional office race for the first time since 2006, along with packed town halls he’s been hosting across the state. He lays out his plan for affordability, why he wants a one-year moratorium on data centers, and yes, his response to the wild video of Tommy Tuberville talking about furries on the Senate floor—a video Jon Tester hadn’t seen before today.Tester will join Jones, Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Shomari C. Figures on the campaign trail in Alabama Thursday, and we hope to jump on for a short livestream as they’re on the bus. Let’s hope there are no Booker/Tester chest bumps as the bus is moving at high speeds.We have two weeks to go, friends. If you’ve voted already, great job! If you haven’t, make sure you get those ballots in. If you need to check your registration or polling place, track your ballot, or learn about what’s on your ballot, vote.org is one of many fabulous resources.