AL midterms are closing in: A look at who is running and their policies

Election-themed buttons hang on display, including one reading “Your Vote, Your Voice,” alongside an American flag button. Credit to Sora Shimazaki from Pexel

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — With election season in full stride, candidates are campaigning harder than ever to convince you to vote for them this Nov. 3.

One of the many problems voters face across America is that by the time they actually get to the ballot box, they only know who the big-ticket actors are, and are left deciding between two candidates they’ve never heard of for a position they didn’t know anyone was running for.

Today, we at the AUMnibus intend to cover the major actors in the Alabama midterm elections so that voters can go to the ballots more confident in their vote.

*An image of Tommy Tuberville is shown courtesy of the “United States Senate Photographic Studio”* from Wikimedia Commons

Given the number of offices up for election, this article will only focus on four most important of these offices: that of the governor, lieutenant governor, the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Tommy Tubberville, and the U.S. House seat for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.

Before we begin, it is important to mention that this article looks at the candidates being elected in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses the southeastern corner of the state and includes Montgomery, Wetumpka, Troy and others.

For additional midterm election information such as checking your registration, your voting district and absentee voting, visit the Alabama secretary of state’s website here.

Without further ado, let’s discuss some politics, shall we?

Governor

We’ll jump right in with the gubernatorial race, where Gov. Kay Ivey will not be running for governor of Alabama this cycle due to Alabama’s constitutional restrictions of two consecutive four-year terms as governor.

*An image of Doug Jones is shown courtesy of the “Doug Jones for Senate Committee” found on* *Wikimedia Commons*

Instead, the race is between the former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the Democratic candidate and Republican candidate Sen. Tommy Tuberville. Both candidates state that they wish to tackle the cost of living and create new jobs, though the two do differ on several key issues.

Tuberville’s plan as stated on his coachforgovernor.com website, emphasizes several key talking points among Republicans, including restricting abortion access, promoting gun rights and, “Fighting back against woke ideology.” Tuberville also pledged to allocate more funding to non-public schooling, support President Trump’s immigration policy and do more to support Alabama veterans.

Jones’ plan, on the other hand, is focused more on general issues, such as increasing public trust in Alabama’s government, expanding access to healthcare and even implementing a state lottery — an issue also championed by Gov. Kay Ivey. Debatably the most interesting promise Jones made was to declare a one-year moratorium on the construction of new AI data centers, as stated on his website dougjones.com

Lieutenant Governor

*An image of Philip Ensler is shown courtesy of the “Alabama Legislature” found on* *Wikimedia Commons*

The for the lieutenant governorship is between Democratic candidate Phil Ensler and the Republican candidate John Wahl.

In no big surprise, I’m sure, these two share many of the same policies as their counterparts running for the Office of governor, though each does also have some policies that they seem to emphasize more

Ensler was a teacher and former representative of District 74 in the Alabama House of Representatives. His plan keys in on two points – fighting corruption and improving quality of life.

For the former, Ensler wants to increase funding for public schools, find more effective ways to prevent crime and raise the state minimum wage. For the latter, he wants to implement term limits, ban gerrymandering and expand voting rights in the state.

Wahl is a businessman and fundraiser for the Republican Party and currently works for the Alabama Public Library Service. His major policies include promoting stricter immigration controls, improving election integrity, and restricting mandatory vaccinations, as stated on votejohnwahl.com.

U.S. Senator

*An image of Barry Moore is shown courtesy of “Wikimedia” found on* *Wikimedia Commons*

Given that Tommy Tubberville is running for governor, his senate seat will be open for either, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama 1st District, or lawyer and relative political newcomer, Everett Wess.

Moore is the Republican candidate for the seat and has been serving as a House representative since 2020. Much like the previous candidates, Moore’s plan focuses heavily on increasing police funding, supporting small businesses and supporting President Trump’s plan.

Wess has experience serving in government as a municipal judge and attorney, but this will be his first time running for an elected office of this nature. In an interview, Wess talked about his policies, which primarily included protecting access to federal jobs in Alabama and continuing support for federal student grants.

U.S. House Representative

The final office to talk about today is that of the House Representative for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which is between Democratic incumbent Shomari Figures and Republican candidate Rhett Marques.

*An image of Shomari Figures is shown courtesy of the “United States Congress” found on* *Wikimedia Commons*

Much like in his last term, Figures’ focus is primarily on improving healthcare access, providing greater support for public education and investing in creating jobs that encourage well-trained and educated workforce, as said on figuresforcongress.com.

Marques does share Figures’ concern for the lack of quality work in 2nd Congressional District, though his plan also focuses on supporting Israel, investing in rural infrastructure projects and supporting Alabama veterans.

Closing Thoughts

With so many seats up for election this year and so few incumbents, we are likely to see a great deal of change soon for Alabama, and with the general political turmoil going on this election, each individual has the potential to matter more now than ever before.

It is important to remember that in a democracy like ours, it is your vote that counts. And so if you find yourself supporting any of these candidates, make sure you make your voice heard on election day this year.

Put back? Additionally, this article only briefly covers the policy of each of the candidates running for office, but there will be links to each of those candidate’s websites for readers who wish to learn more about a certain candidate’s policies.