People crowded shoulder to shoulder upstairs in a south Alabama coffee shop, in a region sometimes called the reddest in the heavily conservative state.
asserted
People → crowd → state
They were there to hear Doug Jones, the Democratic nominee for governor and the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama.
asserted
They → hear → Alabama
We’re not getting any better,” said Jeff Scroggins, 61, a government contractor from Slocomb who was part of the crowd that came to Mural City Coffee Company and said he is voting for the Democrat.
asserted
he → get → Democrat
Scroggins, who usually votes Democratic, called himself the “black sheep of the family” in supporting Jones this fall against Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, but said there are more Democrats and “stubborn independents” in the state than people realize.
asserted
people → vote → state
Jones and other Democrats running in Alabama and neighboring states are banking on it.
asserted
Jones → run → it
“People want change,” Jones said after an hour of talking with people who came to see him.
asserted
who → want → him
Democrats sense a shift among voters
Deep South Democrats, largely absent from statewide offices, are aiming for a comeback this year.
asserted
Democrats → sense → comeback
They are seeking to mobilize Black voters who are angered about the Republican moves to dismantle minority congressional districts, as well as voters who are frustrated with high gas prices, the Iran war, data centers and other issues.
asserted
who → seek → prices
Jones is trying to win a rematch with Tuberville after the Republican ousted him in a 2020 Senate race.
asserted
Republican → try → race
Jones would be the first Democrat since 1998 to win an Alabama governor’s race.
asserted
Jones → win → race
In Mississippi, prosecutor Scott Colom is trying to unseat Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and become the state’s first newly elected U.S. senator since 1946.
asserted
Colom → try → 1946
In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is trying to reverse a losing streak in races for governor that began for Democrats in 2002.
asserted
that → try → 2002
Elsewhere, Democrats are trying to pull off U.S. Senate upsets in Louisiana and South Carolina.
asserted
Democrats → try → Louisiana
In Alabama, Jones’ town halls have attracted hopeful Democrats, some independents and even a few Republicans.
asserted
halls → attract → Democrats
Their concerns mirror those of voters nationwide: the rising cost of living, worries over data centers and the affordability of healthcare, issues they say have gone unaddressed by the Republicans who control the state.
asserted
who → mirror → state
Some said state policies, including an abortion ban that makes no exemption for rape, have been too extreme.
asserted
that → say → rape
Others said some comments by Tuberville, such as calling Islam “a cult,” are embarrassing to the state.
asserted
comments → say → state
Other than Jones’ victory in the special U.S. Senate election, the last Democrat holding statewide office in Alabama was defeated in 2012.
asserted
Democrat → hold → 2012
Statewide Democratic candidates have hit a ceiling of around 40% of the vote in recent elections.
asserted
candidates → hit → elections
In Georgia, U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who is seeking reelection this year, offer a bright spot for Democrats.
asserted
who → seek → Democrats
Jones noted that Alabama saw a surge in the number of people voting in the Democratic primary.
asserted
Alabama → note → primary
While about 58% of primary voters were Republican, the Democratic primary vote doubled since 2022.
asserted
vote → double → 2022
Some counties, including a tech hub in north Alabama, saw more Democratic votes than Republican.
asserted
counties → include → Republican
Optimistic about their chances, Democrats are running candidates in all major state races for the first time in years.
asserted
Democrats → run → years
“The numbers are there,” Jones said.
asserted
Jones → say → ?
“It’s a question of getting those voters out.”
asserted
It → ’ → voters
Republican gerrymandering creates a backlash
asserted
gerrymandering → create → backlash
In nearby Troy, a crowd gathered on the campus of Troy University to hear Jones speak alongside Shomari Figures, one of Alabama’s two Black U.S. House members.
asserted
Jones → gather → members
The district was substantially redrawn by Republicans after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year gutted the Voting Rights Act.
asserted
Court → redrawn → Act
Figures said there is an excitement he has not felt since Jones’ 2017 Senate victory.
asserted
he → say → victory
Figures won election two years ago after a federal court ruled that Alabama had been illegally diluting the voting power of Black Alabamians and ordered new district lines.
asserted
Alabama → win → lines
The Supreme Court’s reversal this year allowed state Republicans to reshape the district and substantially reduce the percentage of Black voters who align with Democrats.
asserted
who → allow → Democrats
“But we are going to win it in November,” he said.
asserted
he → go → November
Figures has often emphasized the economic needs of the district at a time when affordability is one of the main topics of the midterms.
asserted
affordability → emphasize → midterms
He noted that the individual median income in Alabama is $34,000.
asserted
income → note → Alabama
“Let that sink in — $34,000 before taxes, before rent, before water, before lights, before gas, before cellphone, before health insurance, before car insurance, before childcare, before food,” he said.
asserted
he → let → food
Alabama is one of 10 states that did not expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a decision that Jones and Figures said leaves thousands of working people without access to healthcare coverage.
asserted
Jones → expand → coverage
Figures faces Trump-endorsed Republican Rhett Marques, a state lawmaker.
asserted
Figures → face → Marques
Marques framed the race as “common sense” versus “craziness.”
asserted
Marques → frame → craziness
Both have raised about $1.3 million so far.
asserted
Both → raise → million
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
