Doug Jones

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Alabama families are working hard and they deserve a state government that works just as hard for them. Doug is running to put people first, lower costs, expand opportunity, and restore trust so that every individual and every community has a real seat at the table.

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Reward work and raise take-home pay Enact a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to reward work for families who need it most.

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Expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap Cover more than 154,000 working Alabamians who earn too much for Alabama’s restrictive Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance. Highlight the reality: a family of three making more than $4,650 annually doesn’t qualify under current rules.

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Increase the supply of affordable housing Treat housing as a statewide priority, not an afterthought, and use state policy to help increase affordable options. Partner with local communities to expand housing in ways that fit local needs.

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Deliver immediate cost relief Suspend the state gas tax when gas prices spike, delivering a fast, common-sense way to put money back in people’s pockets. Fully eliminate taxes on groceries so families keep more of every paycheck.

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Enact a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to reward work for families who need it most.

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Expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap

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Increase the supply of affordable housing

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Create Jobs Worth Staying For

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Make it possible for parents to work Expand childcare options and infrastructure — especially in areas considered childcare deserts. Address the reality that childcare costs can average $18,000 per year for families.

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Expand Healthcare & Close the Coverage Gap

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Today, Alabama has virtually no rules or regulations to protect communities from the rush to build these massive data centers - no siting law, no noise standard, no water-withdrawal rule, no requirement that they pay their own power costs, no public accounting of what tax abatements cost or the financial benefit to the state or locality, and no standards to hold folks accountable should they fail to meet their representations.

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Fully eliminate taxes on groceries so families keep more of every paycheck.

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Stop turning down roughly $182 million in federal healthcare funding each year. This is money paid in Medicaid taxes by Alabamians but not coming back home.

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Restore Faith in Government

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Expand childcare options and infrastructure — especially in areas considered childcare deserts.

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Keep rural hospitals open and reduce uncompensated care Alabama has lost six rural hospitals since 2011; neighboring expansion-state Arkansas lost zero in that period. Reduce the roughly $650 million in annual uncompensated care costs that threaten hospital stability. Learn from expansion states where uncompensated care dropped sharply (e.g., 45% in Montana in the first year).

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Affordability isn’t just a slogan, it’s what families feel at the gas pump, in the grocery aisle, and when the bills come due. Doug’s priority is simple: deliver immediate relief now and raise take-home pay long-term so Alabama families can breathe again.

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Alabamians are hard workers, but too many people feel stuck, and too many communities are being left behind. Doug’s priority is to remove barriers to work, grow wages, and expand opportunity statewide so people can build a future here at home.

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Alabama is turning down federal healthcare dollars while families struggle, hospitals close, and working people fall into the coverage gap. Doug’s priority is straightforward: expand Medicaid to lower costs, protect rural care, and strengthen the workforce.

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Trust is the foundation for solving Alabama’s biggest challenges — and right now, too many people don’t trust Montgomery to put them first. Doug’s priority is to open up government by increasing transparency, enforce accountability, and give people real control over decisions that shape their lives.

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Alabamians already play the lottery — they just have to cross state lines to do it. Doug’s priority is to let voters decide, keep that revenue here, and invest it back into Alabama communities.

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End conflicts of interest clearly and permanently Ban statewide elected officials from trading individual stocks while in office. Period. And strengthen reporting requirements for members of the legislature.

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Bring Alabama’s healthcare dollars home Stop turning down roughly $182 million in federal healthcare funding each year. This is money paid in Medicaid taxes by Alabamians but not coming back home.

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Put the decision in voters’ hands A state lottery shouldn’t be a left to special interests in Montgomery. Alabamians should decide.

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Lower Costs & Tackle the Affordability Crisis

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End conflicts of interest clearly and permanently

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That is why one of Doug's first acts as governor will be to impose a one-year moratorium on new state and local approvals for AI data centers above 20 megawatts — so Alabama can write the rules first, the way we should have on prisons, pipelines, and coal ash before we signed our name.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the construction of massive, hyperscale data centers are moving at light speed with no guardrails to protect communities. What's worse is that the most powerful politicians in our state are taking hundreds of thousands from AI hyperscale data centers while urging us all to get on the AI train.

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Right now, public officials in our state are signing non-disclosure agreements to keep all of their conversations and promises - including tax breaks for data center companies - behind closed doors.

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Declare a One-Year Moratorium on Data Centers

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the construction of massive, hyperscale data centers are moving at light speed with no guardrails to protect communities. What's worse is that the most powerful politicians in our state are taking hundreds of thousands from AI hyperscale data centers while urging us all to get on the AI train.

Communist China can cram AI data centers down the throats of their people, but in Alabama, Montgomery and corrupt politicians can only do it if we let them.

As Governor, Doug will declare a one-year moratorium on data center construction so that the effects of data centers on the people of Alabama can be studied, understood, and communicated.

People deserve to understand what is being built beside them before decisions are made. We should not just barrel forward and “do data centers” as certain politicians want to do until we make sure every community is informed and protected. Every person in every community has a right to know what a data center will do to their water, their power bill, their sleep, their tax bills, and their quality of life before the ink dries on any deal. They have a right to be heard early enough to change the deal. No Alabamian should learn what is being built next door from a press release.

The Challenge

Right now, public officials in our state are signing non-disclosure agreements to keep all of their conversations and promises - including tax breaks for data center companies - behind closed doors.

That stops with Doug as Governor.

Today, Alabama has virtually no rules or regulations to protect communities from the rush to build these massive data centers - no siting law, no noise standard, no water-withdrawal rule, no requirement that they pay their own power costs, no public accounting of what tax abatements cost or the financial benefit to the state or locality, and no standards to hold folks accountable should they fail to meet their representations.

That is why one of Doug's first acts as governor will be to impose a one-year moratorium on new state and local approvals for AI data centers above 20 megawatts — so Alabama can write the rules first, the way we should have on prisons, pipelines, and coal ash before we signed our name.

Doug will not allow Alabama to become the dumping ground for hyperscale data centers.

Doug's Plan

During the pause, and permanently after, Alabama will require:

A ban on non-disclosure agreements between developers and any city, county, or utility. No council should vote on what its residents are forbidden to read.

Mandatory public notices regarding proposed data center construction to every resident in an affected community with adequate notice to attend at least two public hearings on any proposal.

Full economic, environmental and health impact studies made public from day one, and a funded community advisory board with standing to negotiate conditions and hire independent experts for lifetime monitoring.

A searchable statewide database of every abatement, water permit, and large-load power contract, updated annually by project and dollar. Alabama is one of 14 states that publish no such figure. That ends on Doug's watch.

The authority for state and/or local officials to levy appropriate taxes, fees, or other financial measures to ensure that the state and local communities will reap a significant financial benefit if they choose to allow construction and operations to go forward.

Ethics disclosure by every official voting on a data center project, abatement, or utility contract — financial interests on the record, before the vote, and a lifetime ban for every official and their immediate family from financially benefiting from any project that they voted on.

Full, transparent disclosure of all true owners of any proposed facility. No shell games.

What the pause does not touch

Not one construction job today will be affected. We cannot break signed contracts — but we can hold existing and under-construction facilities to real reporting and mitigation standards. The pause covers new approvals only and provides twelve months for Alabamians to access and understand the information their government has never provided before.

What this delivers for Alabama

Alabama has spent a hundred years signing deals its citizens haven't read, in rooms they weren’t allowed in, and paying for them for thirty years or more. Doug demands one year of daylight — to read the contract in public, with the microphone on.

It's simple: no secret deals, no tax breaks to benefit the corrupt and the wealthy, and no new construction of data centers in Alabama until we have had the time to ensure our communities are protected. No more raising our electricity or water rates at a time when costs are rising every day. And no more corrupt politicians using the people of Alabama as an ATM with zero accountability or transparency.

CONTACT US

Campaign updates

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Lower Costs & Tackle the Affordability Crisis

Affordability isn’t just a slogan, it’s what families feel at the gas pump, in the grocery aisle, and when the bills come due. Doug’s priority is simple: deliver immediate relief now and raise take-home pay long-term so Alabama families can breathe again.

The Challenge

Whether at the gas pump, in the grocery aisle or when paying monthly bills Alabama families are being squeezed at every turn.

Wages aren’t keeping up with rising costs, leaving too many working people falling behind.

Utility decisions are made with virtually no real public input or utility accountability, impacting what families pay each month.

Small fixes aren’t enough: families need immediate relief and long-term solutions that raise incomes and lower costs for good.

Doug’s Plan

Deliver immediate cost relief Suspend the state gas tax when gas prices spike, delivering a fast, common-sense way to put money back in people’s pockets. Fully eliminate taxes on groceries so families keep more of every paycheck.

Deliver immediate cost relief

Suspend the state gas tax when gas prices spike, delivering a fast, common-sense way to put money back in people’s pockets.

Fully eliminate taxes on groceries so families keep more of every paycheck.

Make sure paychecks keep up with prices Raise the minimum wage and pair it with broader strategies that help workers earn and keep more. Renew the “no tax on overtime” law so that extra work actually pays off.

Make sure paychecks keep up with prices

Raise the minimum wage and pair it with broader strategies that help workers earn and keep more.

Renew the “no tax on overtime” law so that extra work actually pays off.

Put people back in control of utility decisions Keep the Public Service Commission accountable to voters, not insulated from them. Push for real public representation at PSC meetings so families aren’t shut out of decisions that affect monthly bills.

Put people back in control of utility decisions

Keep the Public Service Commission accountable to voters, not insulated from them.

Push for real public representation at PSC meetings so families aren’t shut out of decisions that affect monthly bills.

What This Delivers

Lower day-to-day costs for families

Bigger paychecks and better take-home pay

Stronger accountability where utility costs are decided

Why It Matters

Families aren’t looking for excuses — they’re looking for leadership. Doug’s plan starts with relief, then moves to reforms that raise incomes and lower costs for the long haul.

CONTACT US

Deliver immediate cost relief Suspend the state gas tax when gas prices spike, delivering a fast, common-sense way to put money back in people’s pockets.

Make sure paychecks keep up with prices Raise the minimum wage and pair it with broader strategies that help workers earn and keep more.

Put people back in control of utility decisions Keep the Public Service Commission accountable to voters, not insulated from them.

Campaign updates

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Create Jobs Worth Staying For

Alabamians are hard workers, but too many people feel stuck, and too many communities are being left behind. Doug’s priority is to remove barriers to work, grow wages, and expand opportunity statewide so people can build a future here at home.

The Challenge

Workforce participation is 57.9% overall and 71% for prime working-age adults, which places Alabama near the bottom nationally.

That equals roughly 160,000 Alabamians sidelined from the workforce.

Employers face an employee shortage: 38 available workers for every 100 open jobs.

Doug’s Plan

Reward work and raise take-home pay Enact a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to reward work for families who need it most.

Reward work and raise take-home pay

Enact a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to reward work for families who need it most.

Make it possible for parents to work Expand childcare options and infrastructure — especially in areas considered childcare deserts. Address the reality that childcare costs can average $18,000 per year for families.

Make it possible for parents to work

Expand childcare options and infrastructure — especially in areas considered childcare deserts.

Address the reality that childcare costs can average $18,000 per year for families.

Open doors to training, credentials, and careers Create paths like free community college for adults without credentials. Strengthen apprenticeship incentives so more people can earn while they learn.

Open doors to training, credentials, and careers

Create paths like free community college for adults without credentials.

Strengthen apprenticeship incentives so more people can earn while they learn.

Cut red tape that blocks workers and small businesses Reform occupational licensing rules that can cost Alabama $1.88 billion and 21,000 jobs annually. Support second-chance hiring so more Alabamians can re-enter the workforce.

Cut red tape that blocks workers and small businesses

Reform occupational licensing rules that can cost Alabama $1.88 billion and 21,000 jobs annually.

Support second-chance hiring so more Alabamians can re-enter the workforce.

Invest in opportunity everywhere Expand investments in broadband, transportation, and digital skills that are projected to generate $1.4 billion in economic impact and 25,000+ jobs in underserved regions. Ensure small businesses and startups aren’t left behind while only large corporations benefit.

Invest in opportunity everywhere

Expand investments in broadband, transportation, and digital skills that are projected to generate $1.4 billion in economic impact and 25,000+ jobs in underserved regions.

Ensure small businesses and startups aren’t left behind while only large corporations benefit.

Strengthen the workforce through healthcare Medicaid expansion can help people stay healthy and employed and is projected to create nearly 30,000 jobs and $2.76 billion in economic activity.

Strengthen the workforce through healthcare

Medicaid expansion can help people stay healthy and employed and is projected to create nearly 30,000 jobs and $2.76 billion in economic activity.

What This Delivers

More workers able to work

More jobs with better pay

Growth that reaches every region, not just a few

Why It Matters

If Alabama makes the right choices now, we can turn 160,000 missing workers into 160,000 paychecks — and make sure people don’t have to leave to find opportunity.

CONTACT US

Make it possible for parents to work Expand childcare options and infrastructure — especially in areas considered childcare deserts.

Open doors to training, credentials, and careers Create paths like free community college for adults without credentials.

Cut red tape that blocks workers and small businesses Reform occupational licensing rules that can cost Alabama $1.88 billion and 21,000 jobs annually.

Invest in opportunity everywhere Expand investments in broadband, transportation, and digital skills that are projected to generate $1.4 billion in economic impact and 25,000+ jobs in underserved regions.

Campaign updates

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Expand Healthcare & Close the Coverage Gap

Alabama is turning down federal healthcare dollars while families struggle, hospitals close, and working people fall into the coverage gap. Doug’s priority is straightforward: expand Medicaid to lower costs, protect rural care, and strengthen the workforce.

The Challenge

Alabama turns down about $182 million in federal healthcare funding every year.

Over 154,000 hard working Alabamians, such as restaurant workers, construction workers, and home healthcare aides, fall into the health insruance coverage gap: they earn too much for Medicaid but too little for private insurance.

Alabama ranks last in infant and maternal mortality, and is among the worst for diabetes and heart disease.

Since 2011, Alabama has lost six rural hospitals; expansion-state Arkansas lost zero.

Uncompensated care costs Alabama hospitals $650 million a year, pushing more toward closure.

The opioid and mental health crisis can’t be solved without Medicaid expansion. Studies show that adults with Medicaid are twice as likely to get treatment.

Doug’s Plan

Expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap Cover more than 154,000 working Alabamians who earn too much for Alabama’s restrictive Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance. Highlight the reality: a family of three making more than $4,650 annually doesn’t qualify under current rules.

Expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap

Cover more than 154,000 working Alabamians who earn too much for Alabama’s restrictive Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance.

Highlight the reality: a family of three making more than $4,650 annually doesn’t qualify under current rules.

Bring Alabama’s healthcare dollars home Stop turning down roughly $182 million in federal healthcare funding each year. This is money paid in Medicaid taxes by Alabamians but not coming back home.

Bring Alabama’s healthcare dollars home

Stop turning down roughly $182 million in federal healthcare funding each year. This is money paid in Medicaid taxes by Alabamians but not coming back home.

Keep rural hospitals open and reduce uncompensated care Alabama has lost six rural hospitals since 2011; neighboring expansion-state Arkansas lost zero in that period. Reduce the roughly $650 million in annual uncompensated care costs that threaten hospital stability. Learn from expansion states where uncompensated care dropped sharply (e.g., 45% in Montana in the first year).

Keep rural hospitals open and reduce uncompensated care

Alabama has lost six rural hospitals since 2011; neighboring expansion-state Arkansas lost zero in that period.

Reduce the roughly $650 million in annual uncompensated care costs that threaten hospital stability.

Learn from expansion states where uncompensated care dropped sharply (e.g., 45% in Montana in the first year).

Strengthen mental health and addiction treatment Use expansion to access the 90% federal match for services Alabama is currently funding with state-only dollars (including $26.1 million for mental health and substance abuse programs). Expanding Medicaid expands access to treatment. People with Medicaid are twice as likely to receive opioid addiction treatment as those without coverage. Follow evidence from other states: Kentucky saw a 700% increase in substance use disorder services and a 79% decrease in opioid-related hospitalizations for the uninsured after expansion.

Strengthen mental health and addiction treatment

Use expansion to access the 90% federal match for services Alabama is currently funding with state-only dollars (including $26.1 million for mental health and substance abuse programs).

Expanding Medicaid expands access to treatment. People with Medicaid are twice as likely to receive opioid addiction treatment as those without coverage.

Follow evidence from other states: Kentucky saw a 700% increase in substance use disorder services and a 79% decrease in opioid-related hospitalizations for the uninsured after expansion.

Make expansion an economic strategy, not just a healthcare policy A 2022 analysis projected expansion would generate $2.76 billion in additional economic activity in Alabama in 2026 and create nearly 30,000 jobs.

Make expansion an economic strategy, not just a healthcare policy

A 2022 analysis projected expansion would generate $2.76 billion in additional economic activity in Alabama in 2026 and create nearly 30,000 jobs.

What This Delivers

Lower healthcare costs and less medical debt

Stronger rural hospitals and local jobs

A healthier, more stable workforce

Why It Matters

This is one of the most common-sense moves Alabama can make: healthier families, stronger communities, and a stronger economy.

CONTACT US

Expand Medicaid and close the coverage gap Cover more than 154,000 working Alabamians who earn too much for Alabama’s restrictive Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance.

Keep rural hospitals open and reduce uncompensated care Alabama has lost six rural hospitals since 2011; neighboring expansion-state Arkansas lost zero in that period.

Strengthen mental health and addiction treatment Use expansion to access the 90% federal match for services Alabama is currently funding with state-only dollars (including $26.1 million for mental health and substance abuse programs).

Campaign updates

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Restore Faith in Government

Trust is the foundation for solving Alabama’s biggest challenges — and right now, too many people don’t trust Montgomery to put them first. Doug’s priority is to open up government by increasing transparency, enforce accountability, and give people real control over decisions that shape their lives.

The Challenge:

Nearly two-thirds of Alabamians across party lines say their government doesn’t care what they think.

Power is concentrated in Montgomery, making it easier for special interests to influence decisions and harder for regular people to have a say.

Lawmakers can trade stocks and futures in industries they oversee, raising real concerns about conflicts of interest.

Alabama is one of just a few states without early voting and with limited citizen-led ballot initiatives, making it harder for people to participate and hold leaders accountable.

Sadly, Alabama has embraced the partisan gerrymandering wars wich denies so many people a meaningful say in both the state and federal government.

Doug’s Plan

End conflicts of interest clearly and permanently Ban statewide elected officials from trading individual stocks while in office. Period. And strengthen reporting requirements for members of the legislature.

End conflicts of interest clearly and permanently

Ban statewide elected officials from trading individual stocks while in office. Period. And strengthen reporting requirements for members of the legislature.

Give people a stronger voice Allow citizen-led ballot initiatives and referendums. If government won’t act, the people should be able to.

Give people a stronger voice

Allow citizen-led ballot initiatives and referendums. If government won’t act, the people should be able to.

Expand access and accountability in elections Join the 47 other states with early voting so participation is easier and more secure. End practices that reduce competition and accountability (including straight party, one-box voting).

Expand access and accountability in elections

Join the 47 other states with early voting so participation is easier and more secure.

End practices that reduce competition and accountability (including straight party, one-box voting).

Put more decisions closer to home Give local governments more authority to solve problems where they live — not only where power is concentrated.

Put more decisions closer to home

Give local governments more authority to solve problems where they live — not only where power is concentrated.

Pass a constitutional amendment banning partisan gerrymandering and creating a commission to draw all political district, state or federal.

What This Delivers

Less corruption and insider influence

More transparency and public trust

More responsive government that solves problems

Why It Matters

When power is concentrated, special interests win. Doug’s plan shifts power back where it belongs: with the people.

CONTACT US

Expand access and accountability in elections Join the 47 other states with early voting so participation is easier and more secure.

Campaign updates

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Keep Alabama Dollars in Alabama

Alabamians already play the lottery — they just have to cross state lines to do it. Doug’s priority is to let voters decide, keep that revenue here, and invest it back into Alabama communities.

The Challenge

Alabama is the only southern state without a lottery, so Alabama families cross state lines every week to buy tickets in a neighboring state, and that money never returns.

While politicians argue, Alabama loses hundreds of millions of dollars each year that could be invested in education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Other states invest those dollars in their communities, while Alabama watches opportunity walk out the door.

Doug’s Plan

Put the decision in voters’ hands A state lottery shouldn’t be a left to special interests in Montgomery. Alabamians should decide.

Put the decision in voters’ hands

A state lottery shouldn’t be a left to special interests in Montgomery. Alabamians should decide.

Stop sending revenue out of state Families cross borders into Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Mississippi to buy lottery tickets every day, but none of it comes back. A lottery could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually that stays in Alabama.

Stop sending revenue out of state

Families cross borders into Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Mississippi to buy lottery tickets every day, but none of it comes back.

A lottery could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually that stays in Alabama.

Invest proceeds in Alabama priorities Use revenue to strengthen communities — including options like education, healthcare, infrastructure, and other voter-directed priorities.

Invest proceeds in Alabama priorities

Use revenue to strengthen communities — including options like education, healthcare, infrastructure, and other voter-directed priorities.

What This Delivers

New in-state revenue without raising taxes on working families

A voter-driven decision

Dollars invested back into Alabama communities

Why It Matters

This is one of the clearest examples of Alabama falling behind due to inaction. Doug’s plan is simple: keep Alabama dollars in Alabama and let the people decide.

CONTACT US

Stop sending revenue out of state Families cross borders into Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Mississippi to buy lottery tickets every day, but none of it comes back.

Campaign updates

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Build More Affordable Housing

What this means: A fair shot at a safe place to live — without being priced out of your community.

Doug’s plan would increase the supply of affordable housing by partnering with local communities, support smart growth so working families are not pushed out as costs rise, and pair housing solutions with better wages and expanded economic opportunity.