GOP senator 'doesn’t trust polls' showing 'surprisingly close' Alabama race

The Republican brand has become so toxic that it is dragging down GOP candidates in some of the reddest areas of the country, including Alabama.

Reporting Thursday, AL.com revealed that Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Al.) isn't doing as well as expected in his rematch against former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Al.), after formerly ousting the Democrat in 2020. There, Tuberville got 61 percent of the vote. Now, only 49 percent say they'll "definitely" or "probably" vote for Tuberville, according to a poll from an education group that supports public funding for private schools.

An Aug. 4 article on AL.com described the race as "surprisingly close."

"For Jones and the state’s Democrats, capturing 41 percent of the vote against 49 percent for Tuberville would be a tremendous feat," the report said.

It's a considerable shift in the race from 2022, when Democrat Yolanda Flowers got just 29 percent to Gov. Kay Ivey’s 67 percent.

“This would be an underperformance, to say the least. [Republicans] in Alabama are coming in full force in November,” Katherine Robertson, the GOP candidate for Attorney General, told AL.com.

The survey questioned just 601 likely voters; 57 percent of those answered via a text-to-web poll question, and 43 percent answered the questions online.

The survey also asked questions about so-called "school choice" positions. The issue has divided people who believe that if the state pays for children to go to public school, it should also pay for them to go to private school, many of which are run by churches. Advocates of public education believe that is taking money away from public education to subsidize private schools. Their argument is that the funds often don't cover the full cost of private school tuition, leaving poor families unable to make up the difference, while wealthy families simply get free money. Other issues include allowing students to attend whichever public school they want, regardless of whether it is the closest school.

The group believes that Jones could be winning more votes if he is willing to support "school choice" legislation. The survey found "69 percent agree that education funding should follow a child to their selected school." And "65 percent would be more likely to vote for a candidate for governor who supports giving families more education freedom."

Jones had previously won the 2017 special election up against a far-right former judge named Roy Moore, who had nine women who accuse him of inappropriate conduct.

Tuberville has faced off against his own slate of scandals in the Republican primary, where his opponent found reason to believe that Tuberville didn't meet the residency requirement for the governor's race, which requires him to live in the state longer than if he were to run for U.S. Senate. Tuberville's lawyers released documents showing his moves from Florida to Alabama, but those documents also showed that while he was claiming to live in Alabama, he was also voting in Florida, where he said he didn't live.