As I take the stage, here's why I'm running for Governor

Folks, as I’m taking the stage at my campaign kickoff, I wanted to take the time and explain why I’m running to be the next Governor of Alabama. This is a long note, but stick with it. It lays out the foundation of this whole campaign.

It is no accident that I’m sending you this on Dec 12^th, eight years to the day that Alabama proved that it could defy the simplified labels of red and blue, giving me the great honor of serving as your United States Senator.

But December 12th also marks something else. Eight years ago, on this very day, you shocked the nation. On that unforgettable night eight years ago, you stood up and said something simple, something powerful:

We can do better.

You made it clear that our values — Alabama values — are more important than any political party, any personality, any pre-packaged ideology.

And most significantly, on election day in 2017, Alabama gave the country hope. Hope for less chaos. Hope for more unity. Hope for a stronger democracy.

And today, eight years later, we are rekindling that hope, that optimism, that enthusiasm because let’s face it – there is a greater urgency for hope today, in 2025, than there was in 2017.

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And it’s not just what we see coming out of Washington these days - attacks on democracy, on freedom of speech and freedom of religion; attacks on minorities and the media, attacks on the rule of law where political adversaries are targeted and political cronies are pardoned; proven science is cast aside placing our health at risk; policies and executive orders that only benefit the tech bros and billionaires while working folks struggle to make ends meet, farmers are losing their markets and forced to take handouts to survive – and the list goes on and on. And Tommy Tuberville continues with a full throated endorsement of all them.

I was born and raised right here, in the state I love – I have never lived anywhere else.

You honored me by making me your Senator. And I did my best to not just be “a” Senator – but Alabama’s Senator, your Senator – and I worked every day to reflect our values, and to never, ever embarrass you or our State on the national stage.

No one gets it right one hundred percent of the time — but I showed up every day to bring people together.

I worked tirelessly to pass bipartisan bills that created jobs, strengthened veterans’ rights and restored veterans’ benefits, supported small businesses, increased funding for our great HBCUs, and protected our civil rights — and I managed to do it without turning Alabama into a punchline.

I’m running to carry that agenda forward — in a time when life is getting harder for too many Alabamians, I will do all I can to ease that burden and to give the people of Alabama something too many politicians in Montgomery don’t want you to have: a choice.

Next November, the people of Alabama have the chance to look Montgomery in the eye and say: we can do better.

That’s the type of campaign I want to run. Are you with me?

Two-thirds of Alabamians believe their state government doesn’t really care what they think. And I have to ask you — is anyone here surprised?

Just think of all that we would have in this state if those in control of state government in Montgomery truly cared what the people thought and needed. We would already have:

• A state lottery, instead of watching millions of dollars bleed across our borders to Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, or Mississippi, that money would be staying at home, working for you. Among all of the Southern states we stick out like a sore thumb because those in power in Montgomery refuse to allow for you to vote on a lottery.

• We’d have Early voting, like 47 other states that trust their citizens. We would be investing in ways to make it easier to vote, not harder. What are they scared of if more people cast ballots? My guess is they are scared of the “wrong” people casting ballots because they would rather suppress those votes than compete for those votes.

• And speaking of voting and the fear of competing for votes, we damn sure need to quit clinging to an outdated straight-ticket voting system — Alabama is only one of five states that insists on straight ticket voting, which we all know is nothing more than a rigged system designed to keep the powerful in power.

• We would have already taken every measure possible to protect families so Alabama wouldn’t have one of the highest rates of maternal mortality and infant mortality in the country, earning an “F” on maternal health from the March of Dimes — think of that, this self proclaimed “pro-life state” earning an “F” in caring for mothers.

• I promise you as your Governor I will do everything possible to protect IVF and contraception because that is what the folks who work every day to control Montgomery are coming for next. It started with abortion, but make no mistake - those folks never planned on stopping there.

• And with an issue that I think is the most critical for a healthy and prosperous Alabama, we would have Expanded Medicaid, so our neighbors wouldn’t be living with the highest rates of diabetes and heart disease in the nation…
  so rural hospitals wouldn’t be shutting their doors but their communities would instead be reaping the improved health and economic benefits that come when those hospitals thrive.

You know that’s what I’m for.

But what you may not know or fully appreciate is that Tommy Tuberville, with his “Trump first, Alabama as an afterthought” mindset and his blind support of what I call the “Anything BUT Beautiful Bill,” has been slamming the door on Medicaid expansion. That bill creates even more roadblocks to Medicaid expansion and all of the health and economic benefits that come with it.

And to make matters worse, Tuberville is perfectly content with letting ACA subsidies expire, subsidies that so many Alabamians have depended on for the health insurance that they have purchased on the ACA exchanges.

When I am elected Governor we are going to do everything in our power to get healthcare to every Alabamian and if that means expanding Medicaid with the stroke of a pen, then I am going to do it.

I’m running for Governor because there has never been a better time to reconnect people to their government; to empower people to work beyond Montgomery. The foundation for change and progress is to empower people with a measure of real control to decide questions that most affect their lives.

Politicians in our state love to say they are running to protect our values. Well, it’s about damn time we let you, their constituents, not the powerbrokers in Montgomery, tell them directly what their values are.

Folks, none of this is a game, or some sporting event.

When nearly one out of five young Alabamians can’t find a job that pays the bills or forces them to leave the communities they love… that’s not a game.

That’s our future on the line.

When you lose access to health care and a child or parent falls ill — it’s not a game.

When energy bills skyrocket and families have to choose between keeping the lights on or putting food on the table — it’s not a game.

When AI begins shutting down plants and factories or data centers jack up your electricity bills while our elected leaders are too busy courting billionaire tech bros to protect Alabama jobs and make life affordable — it’s not a game.

And when one party controls state government the way we see things being controlled now, smothering debate, smothering innovation … smothering hope — it is absolutely not a game.

Alabama is not a stadium, and our lives are not a scoreboard. And public service is most certainly not a game. This is about our families. Our communities - our state.

We must not only give the people of Alabama a choice but also a vision.

As Louise and I eased into this campaign I have been asked “What is your vision for Alabama?” It is an essential question for any candidate to answer. But the answer doesn’t lie in a series of promises or policy statements. It is much more of a feeling and emotional attachment to the state where you have more than just a house, but the state you truly call home.

And it brought to mind a song by four incredibly talented female recording artists who called themselves The Highwomen. The song is “Crowded Table” and the chorus and some lyrics include:

I want a house with a crowded table

And a place by the fire for everyone

Let us take on the world while we’re young and able

And bring us back together when the day is done

The door is always open

Your picture’s on my wall

Everyone is a little broken

And everyone belongs

It is a powerful song about community and bringing people together despite their differences. Much like our victory in 2017, it is an anthem about finding strength in unity and ensuring that everyone has a place at the table and sense of belonging.

That is my vision for Alabama. For too long we have been a house divided in many ways, and politicians have played on that and divided us further.

But this is not a game where your Governor or other public official should be picking winners and losers.

I see Alabama as that house with a crowded table — where there is always one more chair so everyone has a seat at that table, there is always room by the fire, always a place for everyone. Where the door is open, and yes — we’re all a little different — but nobody gets turned away. Where we belong to one another, flaws and all.

Eight years ago, you sent that message to the entire country.
You showed them that Alabama can surprise people.
That Alabama can defy expectations.
That Alabama can rise above division and say, with one voice:

We can do better. And we can do it together!

Well — the time for games is over. We are not starting the first quarter of a football game. We are reinvigorating a journey. A journey that began on December 12, 2017.

And now, with your help, we can finish what we began. We can build the Alabama we’ve always deserved — not a government that works for the powerful, but a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Let’s make that commitment – not to me – but to each other..

Let’s make that promise real.
Let’s make that crowded table real.
Let’s make Alabama the state we all know it can be.

I’m honored to have you with me on this campaign. Now, let’s go win this. Please pitch in today and let’s get to work.

-Doug

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