As campaigns heat up ahead of Alabama’s 2026 statewide election, fundraising is ramping up in the races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

In the gubernatorial race, Democratic candidate Doug Jones outraised Republican front-runner candidate U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville for the month of December. 

December marked Jones’s first full month of fundraising since he announced his candidacy in November. Jones raised $482,798 during December, bringing his campaign total to $588,359. His campaign’s largest donations in December came from individuals, with Lisa and Alan Engel of Homewood donating $25,000 and Donald Hess of Birmingham donating $25,000.

Tuberville, on the other hand, raised $259,215 over the course of December. However, Tuberville remains millions of dollars ahead of Jones’s fundraising, raising a total of $9.1 million since he launched his campaign in May. Tuberville’s largest donations in December included a $50,000 donation from Jake Ruttenberg of Birmingham, as well as a $50,000 donation from the law firm Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.

Two other Democrats running for governor, Will Boyd and Chad “Chig” Martin, also reported receiving campaign contributions in December, with Boyd raising $7,374 and Martin raising $2,117 over the course of the month. On the Republican side, Ken McFeeters has not reported any financial contributions, and is, instead, self-funding his campaign on a $20,000 loan.

Candidates running for lieutenant governor were also busy fundraising in December. Current Secretary of State Wes Allen, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the role, led in fundraising last month — raising $103,100, bringing his campaign total to $1.08 million. Some of Allen’s biggest contributors in December included a $25,000 contribution from the Alabama Farmer’s Federation PAC, FARM PAC. Allen received other PAC contributions last month as well, including a $15,000 contribution from SV&B PAC, a PAC led by lobbyist Dax Swatek, and $10,000 from the Alabama Forestry PAC.

Allen handedly leads fundraising in the lieutenant governor’s race, ahead of three other Republicans. Current Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate raised $4,552 in December, real estate developer Nicole Wadsworth raised $22,000 and pastor Dean Odle raised $1,150. Campaign totals for Pate, Wadsworth and Odle come in at $594,181, $246,746 and $15,192 respectively.

The lone Democrat running for lieutenant governor, state Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, raised $54,394 in December, after announcing his campaign on Dec. 18.

In the attorney general race, former Alabama Supreme Court justice Jay Mitchell led the pack in December fundraising. Mitchell, who is running as a Republican, raised $139,500 in December — including four $13,500 donations from four Tuscaloosa-based political action committees run by Michael Echols and Joshua Taylor — bringing his campaign fundraising total to $2.2 million.

Mitchell is running against two other Republican candidates, including current Attorney General Steve Marshall’s chief counsel, Katherine Robertson. Robertson raised $83,512 last month, bringing her campaign total to $1.4 million. Robertson also received PAC contributions last month, receiving five $5,000 contributions from PACs connected to the Fine Geddie lobbying firm and a $10,000 contribution from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama PAC.

Meanwhile, Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey raised $13,060 in December, bringing her campaign total to $607,611. Casey received a $10,000 PAC contribution from the Poarch Creek Indians.

Primary elections in these statewide races will be held on May 19, with the general election taking place on Nov. 3.

Alabama top stories in brief

Preliminary autopsy points towards hypothermia in death of Walker County toddler

• A preliminary autopsy released in the case of Johnathan Everett Boley, a four-year-old who went missing in Jasper on Dec. 31, has pointed towards hypothermia as his cause of death. 
• After Johnathan Boley was reported missing, a massive search effort covering more than 500 acres was undertaken by the Walker County Sheriff’s Department, 161 volunteers and 126 first responders. Johnathan Boley’s body was found two miles away from his father’s home with his dog Buck, who was still alive.
• Johnathan Boley’s father, Jameson Kyle Boley, has since been arrested on two counts of chemical endangerment to a child linked to methamphetamines, as well as unlawful manufacture of a destructive device or bacteriological weapon after explosive devices were found on his property. Johnathan Boley’s parents are separated, and he was visiting his father for the holidays.
• The Walker County coroner has said that the full autopsy report should be available in the coming week.

ADPH investigating two possible flu-related pediatric deaths

• The Alabama Department of Public Health is investigating two recent pediatric deaths that may be linked to influenza.
• Flu has been especially prevalent throughout the country this year, due to the fact that this year’s flu vaccine strain seems to be less effective in fighting the strain of flu that is circulating this year. 
• Tracking flu cases and deaths can be difficult, however, because the state does not mandate case reporting for the flu. 
• ADPH does keep track of emergency room visits for respiratory diseases such as the flu, RSV and COVID-19. Their data shows that ER visits for respiratory diseases last week was down 30% from last week, with flu cases making up 6.31% of those cases. ER visits for respiratory diseases peaked in the state from Dec. 14-20.
• ADPH reported that 763,600 Alabamians have received the flu vaccine for the 2025-2026 season so far.

Court rules birth centers are subject to the state hospital regulations

• The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled last week that freestanding birth centers in the state are considered hospitals under state law and are subject to regulation by the Alabama Department of Public Health.
• This ruling comes in a suit filed by Birmingham’s Oasis Family Birthing Center and Huntsville’s Alabama Birth Center — represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, after ADPH adopted rules requiring birth centers to be under the oversight of a physician or medical director and be located within 30 minutes of a hospital with OB-GYN services. The birth centers say that these rules make it difficult for midwives in the state to provide services, especially in rural areas that are distant from hospitals.
• The ACLU has said that it will seek “further court review” in the state, and that the birth centers will continue to operate in the meantime.

Amtrak service out of Mobile adds extra car for Mardi Gras season

• The Amtrak Mardi Gras line, which runs out of Mobile along the Gulf Coast to New Orleans, will operate with an extra train car throughout the Mardi Gras season.
• Through Feb. 23, the train, which runs daily between its two terminus cities, will operate with three, 58-seat coach cars instead of its normal two coach cars. The train also has a 17-seat business class car.
• The train had previously been running with an additional car on weekends when the New Orleans Saints football team had a home game. 
• Parade season kicked off in New Orleans on Jan. 6, while parades will begin rolling in Mobile on Jan. 30 with the Conde Cavaliers parade. Fat Tuesday is on Feb. 17 this year, with a full-day slate of parades scheduled in both cities. This will include the Order of Athena, King Felix, Knights of Revelry, Comic Cowboys, Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association and Order of Myths parades in Mobile, as well as nearly a dozen parades in New Orleans.

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