Doug Jones, during a press conference on Wednesday, said Democrats “overperformed” in Tuesday’s primary, citing statistics showing a larger-than-usual share of voters casting Democratic ballots as opposed to Republican ones.

“We increased our numbers of Democratic votes in a primary significantly, 15% or more, and we did that without spending a lot of money,” Jones, who is now the Democratic nominee for governor, said based on information from the Secretary of State’s Office.

“Most of the Democratic money was spent on yard signs over the last few months. The other side of the ticket, the other side of this race in the Republican primary, they spent millions of dollars in media, in both TV, radio, social media, millions of dollars and they underperform by 25% with really contested races,” Jones said. “Those are big numbers.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear joined Jones at the pedestal during the press conference at Birmingham’s Pepper Place to say Alabama is “in play” for Democrats this election year and promote Jones’ bid for governor.

Tabitha Isner, vice president of the Alabama Democratic Party, in a post on Facebook, said that 43% of Alabama voters pulled a Democratic ballot in 2026. Compared to 21% in 2022, Isner wrote, that reflects a 105% increase in Democratic turnout while Republican turnout decreased by 25%.

“What a night!” she said.

In a subsequent post, Isner said the statistics she cited showed not so much that more people showed up for the Alabama primary but that, of the people who showed, more of them chose Democratic ballots over Republican ones. She added that 42% chose a Democratic ballot, “a remarkable (number) we haven’t seen since 2006.”

Wayne Rogers, the immediate past chairman of the Jefferson County Democratic Party, said the pattern held true in the state’s largest county.

“One of the biggest takeaways of the night,” he said, “(is) Democratic votes in Jefferson County outnumbered GOP votes 89,781 to 40,526. In 2022, GOP votes outnumbered Democratic votes in the May primary by 59,000 or so to 48,000 or so.

“This year’s numbers are dramatically different,” Rogers said. “The enthusiasm is on our side.”

Another Way to Look at It

Former Secretary of State John Merrill took a different stance on what the numbers mean, saying Republicans were not interested in the races run on Tuesday, especially the governor’s race.

“The Democrats were drawn to vote in the race yesterday because they had Doug Jones leading the ticket,” Merrill said. “They had a full slate of Democratic officers for constitutional positions to run, had several legislative races that were of interest and some local races that were of interest. That piqued their interest and got them to vote.”

Conversely, Merrill said, Republicans did not have a viable contest for the governor’s race on the primary ballot.

“Coach (Tommy) Tuberville is going to be the nominee,” he said. “People knew that there was no active campaign. He never ran one ad the whole time. They were less than enthusiastic about the Senate candidates. There was no interest in the lieutenant governor’s race, very little interest in the attorney general’s race, no interest in the secretary of state’s race, very little interest in the auditors’ race, if any at all. Basically, no interest in the ag (agriculture) commissioner’s race and no interest in the treasurer’s race.

“When you put all that together, that means you’re going to have a lower voter turnout for the Republicans because they weren’t pleased with the candidates, or they were so pleased with the candidates (that) they didn’t feel like they needed to vote.”

Merrill said Democratic excitement about their showing in the primary is overstated.

“I think that’s a mistake to assume that,” he said. “They’re going to realize that on November the third.”

 Democrats Push to Expand Base

Beshear appeared for the press conference in Birmingham Wednesday to say the trend is real.

“I’ve won three straight statewide elections in a state that went to Donald Trump by almost 31 points just a couple of years ago,” he said. “I’m living, breathing proof the Democrats can win anywhere, and we should be fighting everywhere.

“I’m here to tell you that Alabama is in play,” Beshear said. “People right now are desperate, desperate for people who will make their lives a little bit easier and a little bit better. They have a president that promised them that, but (Donald Trump) has done everything to make life that much harder.”

The Kentucky governor said the United States needs public servants like Doug Jones.

“We are seeing numbers here and across the country that mean we are going to win governors’ races in places that people don’t expect,” Beshear said. “As chair of the Democratic Governors Association, guess where I am the day after the primary? I’m right here in Alabama. I’m here because Doug Jones is my friend and he has my full support.”

The governor also acknowledged personal reasons for visiting, including an aunt in Montgomery, and a cousin and a college roommate in Birmingham.