Doug Jones Tells Joy-Ann Reid National Democrats Gave Alabama Race No Help

Doug Jones, the former senator and Democratic nominee for governor of Alabama, says his campaign has gotten no help from the national party, days before he faces Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville.

"In Alabama, we're building this on our own... We've not had any help at all," Jones told Joy-Ann Reid on The Joy Reid Show. The interview took place on Reid's tour bus in Birmingham and aired Thursday in a recap of her "Midterminology" tour of the South.

When Reid asked directly about the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), Jones softened his answer. "Well, you know, look, I've talked to them off and on, but they've got 36 governor's races that they're looking at," he said, adding: "Look, I get that."

Doug Jones Blames Decades of Democratic Neglect of the South

Reid opened the interview by saying the party had "really neglected an entire region of the country" where it could compete. Jones agreed.

"Oh, look, for decades. I mean, this is going on for a long time. This is not new," he said. "We could have had so much more if we had had the infrastructure."

He put the blame on years of decisions, not on this cycle alone. "This is not just this year. This is something that has been going on for a long time," Jones said. "So many folks had invested when we were talking about this 20 years ago... Can you imagine? We would sweep."

Reid made the same complaint throughout the tour. After interviewing Scott Colom, the Democratic Senate nominee in Mississippi, she said: "Mississippi has always been viable. It's just what's underfunded."

What Alabama Campaign Finance Filings Show

The filings support Jones's account of a campaign paid for mostly by small donors. Jones has raised about $6.76 million to Tuberville's $17.73 million, and had about $508,000 in cash on hand to Tuberville's $2.19 million, WSFA reported from state filings. Individuals gave about 98 percent of Jones's money, and political action committees gave $71,810.

The largest national Democratic-aligned contribution WBRC identified in Jones's reports was $7,500 from Speak Up PAC. WBRC's report did not identify a contribution from the DGA.

The DGA has spent heavily elsewhere. An October memo from Meghan Meehan-Draper, the group's executive director, said the DGA had invested "at least $10 million each in Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, and Wisconsin," the Florida Phoenix reported. The memo listed Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and Nebraska as increasingly competitive.

What the DGA Has Said About Doug Jones

The DGA has backed Jones publicly. After he won the nomination in May, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, the group's chair, said in a statement that he was "proud to support his campaign" and that Jones would "expand Medicaid, drive innovation, lower costs." Beshear later campaigned with Jones in Alabama.

The race is uphill for Jones. Tuberville leads by 9.5 points in PolitiKool's polling average, 49.9 percent to 40.4 percent.

Doug Jones Cites His 2020 Senate Loss as Proof Alabama Is Winnable

Jones won a 2017 special election for the Senate and lost his seat to Tuberville in 2020. Jones said he got 920,000 votes that year, a total that "would have won any governor's race," adding: "It doesn't win a race when Trump is on the ballot in a presidential year."

Jones is running on a moratorium on data centers, Medicaid expansion and a state lottery. He told Reid he avoids party labels. "This is not a blue wave. I don't talk about blue. I don't talk about red. I talk about change," he said.

What Happens Next

Alabama votes Tuesday. Jones pointed to one change on the ballot. "This is the first time in 20 years, 20 years since 2006, that there's a Democrat in all seven of our constitutional offices," he said.

Whether the party's committees put money into Alabama in the final days, and whether a campaign Jones described as built from the ground up can close a nine-point gap without that money, will be clear by Tuesday night.