On the campaign trail, Senator Doug Jones was in Huntsville Sunday night for a drive-in rally supporting historically black colleges and universities at the Fellowship of Faith Church.
Alabama has more HBCUs than any other state, with three in the Huntsville area alone.
During his rally, Jones said it was important for those schools to know there’s someone who has their back in the senate.
Students from numerous HBCUs along with other speakers took the stage before the senator was met with honks and flashes from an excited audience.
In attendance were students like Aaron Wimberly, a member of Oakwood University who said Jones’ support means everything.
“As a Black man in America,” Wimberly said, “it’s hard. Every step of every day is hard for me and the fact that I have somebody in my corner who is personally supporting us, in the open instead of behind closed doors, means the world to me.”
Jones voted to increase HBCU funding during his first two years in the senate before attaining permanent funding in his third. The senator said these schools deserve recognition and it’s important for them to know that he has their back.
“They can appreciate what can be done when folks are there that have their voice, because those colleges and universities do so much and these students contribute so much,” he explained.
With just over two weeks before the election, the race between Jones and former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville is heating up.
According to information sent out by Tuberville’s campaign Sunday night, the former coach is currently trailing the senator by one point in the polls.
An Auburn University poll showed Tuberville with a 12-point lead just two weeks ago.
In a recent campaign video, Tuberville was endorsed by former senator and attorney general Jeff Sessions.
“Alabama must send you to represent us in the senate. We cannot allow a Chuck Schumer acolyte – Doug Jones – to represent Alabama in the senate. I mean you see it on his vote on the judges and Kavanaugh and the way he’s behaved about the new nominee,” Sessions said in the video.
The Nov. 3 election is expected to be unlike any other. When asked Sunday, Senator Jones said he expected to see a strong turn out, noting the current record numbers of early voters.