On Monday, the Republican candidates for statewide and national office aligned their schedules to attend the Grand Ole Party in Florence, Alabama. U.S. Sen. and Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville (R) was the featured guest, but with two weeks until the November 3 midterm elections, it was an opportunity for all interested voters to hear from other statewide candidates.
The event was sponsored by the GOP Executive Committees of Colbert and Lauderdale Counties, and co-hosted by the Colbert County Republican Women and the Florence-area Republican Women. The mission of this coordinated effort was twofold: to give this region’s Republicans — and the community — a chance to hear from the candidates ahead of voting, and to energize the Republican base, which has increased in this formerly blue-purple area which is home to the world-renowned Fame and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, and the University of North Alabama (UNA).
Admission was completely free to the public, with special VIP opportunities to meet and greet Sen. Tuberville and the other representatives and candidates. There was even opening music by Shoals native son Marty Raybon, lead singer of the band Shenandoah, who shared a powerful truth. While we cannot vote for sanity in other states, we can pray for them to make wiser choices and that, by some miracle, they will clean up and shore up their election integrity.
Raybon encouraged, "Prayer is more powerful than the atomic bomb."
Amen.
With over 200 attendees, it was a fairly packed room, and the night's program was also packed. U.S. Senate nominee Rep. Barry Moore (AL-01) opened the evening with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance.
In his speech, Coach Tuberville used a sports metaphor to explain why he chose to leave Washington, D.C. in order to run for Alabama governor.
"I'm in the fourth quarter of my life, and I want to stay and help. That's the reason I did this. The only reason I did this is to help the people of this country, help the people of this state. And I said, you know, I can stay up here and be one of 100, or I can go back to Alabama and be the coach, the head coach of the state, and put together a staff in all of our agencies and work our tail off to make our state better."
Tuberville said he and his team already had plans in the works on how to make the state better for the people. "We've had a hundred people that we've put together that have been going through everything from law enforcement to health care, to all the things that make up our state to make it better for you. And I'm not talking about politicians; I'm talking about people that are experts in their field. The last year and a half, we have got a plan. It's really going to be exciting."
As Tuberville explained it, his opponent, Democrat nominee and former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), has no discernible plan.
"I have not heard any plan. Not one thing," Tuberville said. "We're not going to elect a socialist as the governor of Alabama. This country's not going that far."
Part of Tuberville's plans is to bulwark Alabama against the encroachment of socialism that appears to have overtaken many states in the country.
"So, what do we have to do here? We've got to put things together to make it strong in our state because they're coming. They're going to come here and they're going to try to take over our state. They're going to try to do things in which to take power to bring us to their level, and that's not going to happen. We're going to work very hard to make sure that you and your family have an opportunity to be involved in faith, family, and freedom. That's what I'm all about."
The rest of the evening was given to the other candidates to make their final pitches to voters. Unlike other states, Alabama does not have early voting or mail-in ballots. Within a certain timeframe, one can request an absentee ballot, or they can go to their county courthouse and cast their ballot early. But for those who choose neither of those options, November 3 is one day, one vote, and you're required to show identification in order to do so. Clear, straightforward, and assists in minimizing fraud rather than throwing the door wide open.
One of the many reasons why living here is a pleasure.
While the Democrats may be expressing energy, optimism, and claiming they are going to flip Alabama blue, the Alabama polls reflect a different story. Even if November 3 renders the lackluster turnout seen in the May 19 primary and the subsequent runoffs, with less than 30 percent of the 3.8 million registered voters in the state having cast a ballot, the Republican Party is strongly favored to pull out wins for governor and key state-level races.
The Alabama poll | 10/15-10/16 Alabama statewide races 2026 Governor 🟥Tommy Tuberville 51% 🟦Doug Jones 39% —— US Senate 🟥Barry Moore 56% 🟦Everett Wess 35% —— Lt Governor 🟥John Wahl 53% 🟦Phillip Ensler 35% —— Attorney General 🟥Katherine Robertson 54% 🟦Jeff McLaughlin 35%
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) October 20, 2026
New polling for key Alabama candidates shows Republicans underperforming, but still likely to win statewide races in the upcoming Nov. 3 election.
About 51% of respondents said they plan to vote for U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee, according to new results from The Alabama Poll conducted by Michael Lowry and released Oct. 19.
Just 39% of respondents said they plan to vote for former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.
New— 51% of respondents said they plan to vote for U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, according to new Alabama polling released Oct. 19. https://t.co/jSHjL7zdwH
— Ruth Serven Smith (@RuthServenSmith) October 19, 2026
But this should not cause Republicans, or anyone for that matter, to rest on their laurels. If there was any theme of the evening, the common thread pulling the candidates' remarks together was that Alabamians cannot afford to be complacent — we must get out and vote on election day, and encourage others to do the same.
Caroleen Dobson, nominee for AL Secretary of State, acknowledged that many of her fellow candidates were preaching to the converted. If she could encourage anything, it would be vigilance to ensure Alabama elections remain secure. "If we don't have secure elections then we can't ensure that our kids grow up in the same America, the same Alabama, that we know and love," she said.
Dobson also threw in a dose of reality about who Doug Jones pretends to be, and what his record actually reflects. Dobson understood that the top of the ticket may be the only thing some voters fixate upon.
"I don't know about you, but as I travel across the state, I see way too many Doug Jones signs. Umm... I don't know if it's selective amnesia. I have to give Doug credit, he is doing his best to act like a moderate. But Doug Jones has a record. His time in the U.S. Senate where he voted lockstep with the far Left. He wasn't a Joe Manchin. He wasn't even a John Fetterman. He voted like the far Left Democrats told him to vote. And so, I think it's incumbent upon us as people who care about the future of this state, who want to make sure that our kids and grandkids have real opportunities, who want to ensure that our kids and grandkids have the values, are able to worship God freely wherever they are, it's imperative and incumbent on us to inform our friends and neighbors to remind them of Doug Jones' record."
Dobson concluded, "This next election could not be more pivotal. It's going to determine the future of our state, not just for the next eight years to come, but for decades to follow. So for the sake of your kids, my kids, our grandkids, please get out and vote. Call 10 friends. Tell them to call 10 friends. Get out, go vote, and vote red."
It is one thing to hear this from a candidate who wants your vote, but it is wholly another to hear it from the generation who will be forced to live under the impact of our vote.
Harrison Chandler, a high school youth captain for Project Future Generation, was given an opportunity to speak, and his was the one that made an indelible impression on everyone.
The Project Future Generation initiative was launched in August by the Alabama GOP to connect young people with the Republican Party through outreach, engagement, and direct involvement with local party activity.
Chandler's message was quite simple: His generation desires to lead and to uphold and champion the blessings of liberty. However, will there be a country left where they can do this? If socialism is allowed to take hold, the next generation will have nothing to preserve or defend.
Chandler said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but the tide is turning. And I believe that this is just the beginning. But we cannot afford to become complacent. We have to turn this energy and excitement into action. We have to continue to show up, continue to have those hard discussions and ask those questions. And we have to continue to bring more people into this movement each and every day."
Therein lies the rub. Despite a full room, the number of people under the age of 40 was less than five percent of the attendees. While it's a good thing that the Alabama GOP now recognizes it must engage the next generation, there must be more Harrison Chandlers to take up the mantle, and more spaces where vision and values are allowed to take shape so that this generation can not only embrace liberty and freedom, but learn to advance it.
Chandler concluded:
"This responsibility that we need to carry belongs to each and every one of us. So, the adults here tonight, continue to encourage this next generation. Give them opportunities to lead. Give them opportunities to carry this responsibility forward, and continue to remind them of why this country is so special and why they are so blessed to live here. Imagine if each one of us would adopt the mindset of, 'Here I am, Lord, use me.' If we all stopped waiting for somebody else to step forward, if we all stopped waiting for somebody else to take initiative, but we all decided that we were willing to serve, that we were willing to lead, and that we were willing to make a difference.
"So the work isn't finished, but the future is definitely worth fighting for, and each one of us has a role to play."
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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