MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile County voted for a Democrat for governor for the first time in 28 years on Tuesday, even as Republican Tommy Tuberville won the statewide race, according to unofficial returns. Baldwin County stayed solidly Republican but moved noticeably toward Democrats.
Democrat Doug Jones lost statewide to Tuberville by about 4 points, but carried Mobile County with 54.6 percent of the vote. That left him roughly 12,000 votes ahead of Tuberville locally. Donald Trump won the county by more than 28,000 votes in 2024, which means the county swung more than 25 points toward Democrats in two years. Trump won Alabama by 20 points in 2024, so Tuberville ran a net 16 points behind that showing statewide. All results remain unofficial until certified.
First Democratic win for governor in Mobile County since 1998
The last time Mobile County backed a Democrat for governor was 1998, when Mobilian Don Siegelman carried it with nearly 61 percent of the vote against Republican incumbent Fob James. Republican candidates for governor won the county in every four-year election cycle from 2002 through 2022.
Democratic voters in Mobile County also carried the county in contested races for lieutenant governor, U.S. Senate, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor and a seat on the Alabama Supreme Court. Republicans still won all of those races in the statewide totals.
Straight-party ballots flip
The shift showed up clearly in straight-party voting. In Mobile County, 49,236 voters, or 51.7 percent of straight-party ballots, chose Democrats, compared with 45,948 for Republicans. In 2024 Republicans cast 73,686 straight-party votes, nearly 21,000 more than Democrats that year, and in the 2022 midterms they held an advantage of about 18,000.
Mobile County reported 127,782 ballots cast Tuesday, a 41.1 percent turnout. That was 19,951 more ballots than in the 2022 midterm election, when turnout was 34.7 percent.
Baldwin County stays red, with less margin
Baldwin County remains one of the most Republican counties in the country, and Tuberville won it with 59,310 votes, or 69.3 percent, to Jones’ 26,005 votes, or 30.4 percent. That margin is 19 points narrower than the roughly 58-point advantage Trump enjoyed there in the 2024 presidential election.
Democrats cast 15,339 straight-party ballots in Baldwin County, up from 6,159 in 2022, a gain of 149 percent. Republican straight-party ballots grew more modestly, from 42,925 to 47,419. Overall, 86,040 ballots were cast, compared with 73,524 in 2022. Turnout rose only slightly, from 38.9 percent to 40 percent.
Swings across the state
Some of the largest shifts came in traditionally Republican counties. Franklin County moved 33 points toward Democrats compared with 2024. In Tuscaloosa County, a 20-point Trump victory in 2024 became a 9-point Jones win, a swing of nearly 30 points. Colbert County shifted about 29 points toward Democrats, and Etowah and Shelby counties each moved roughly 28 points. Madison County went from a 9-point Trump win to a 16-point Jones win.
South AL News reported partial, unofficial returns on election night in a separate story, in which Tuberville led Jones in the statewide tally.
Congressional and sheriff’s races
In the 1st Congressional District, Democrat Clyde Jones narrowly carried Mobile County over Republican incumbent Jerry Carl, 65,746 votes to 61,107. Carl still won the district because of stronger support in the other counties, as South AL News reported in its story on Carl’s return to Congress. In the 2nd District, Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures led Republican Rhett Marques in the returns reported on election night.
Republican Sheriff Paul Burch won re-election over Democrat Pamela Laffitte by roughly 4,000 votes, 64,937 to 60,984, according to the figures in the source reporting. South AL News covered that race in its own story.
Party leaders respond
Mobile County Democratic Party Chairman Ben Harris said he was pleased with Tuesday’s performance and described it as evidence of a national wave that took control of the U.S. House and Senate away from Republicans. “This was not only a repudiation of Trump and his policies, but also a reflection of the strength of our candidates,” he said.
Harris pointed to Figures’ victory in the 2nd District over Marques despite a redistricting effort to hand the seat to Republicans. He also praised Clyde Jones. “Clyde Jones ran a wonderful campaign; it’s a red district, but we performed well,” Harris said.
Stuart Lang, chairman of the Mobile County Republican Executive Committee, congratulated Tuberville in a statement Wednesday and thanked voters for electing Republicans to congressional, legislative and county offices. “We celebrate the election of Tommy Tuberville as Alabama’s next governor and look forward to his leadership through a conservative lens, guided by the principles of limited government, individual freedom, and opportunity,” he said.
Lang also celebrated Carl’s re-election and Burch’s win. “These victories belong not only to our candidates but also to the voters, volunteers, poll watchers, campaign workers, and dedicated Republican supporters who worked tirelessly throughout this election cycle,” he said.
Vote totals reported by different sources on election night varied slightly. A South AL News story published Tuesday night, based on Mobile County Probate Court numbers, listed the sheriff’s race at 64,946 to 60,999 with 79 of 80 precincts reporting. All figures will change slightly as results are certified.
