Jones challenges Tuberville to debate across Alabama—or just on data centers

An independent voter who said she has always voted Republican in Alabama asked Doug Jones a direct question at his Marshall County town hall Saturday: Had he formally challenged Tommy Tuberville to a debate?

Jones said he had publicly challenged Tuberville on multiple occasions and that his campaign had accepted invitations from several organizations interested in hosting debates. He then proposed taking the debates directly to voters across Alabama.

“I would love to see a series of debates, if the heat would break, on the back of a flatbed truck in about five different places in this state,” Jones said. “Just get up there one-on-one. We don’t need a moderator. We don’t need anything. We just get up there and talk about issues and go back and forth with each other.”

“I don’t think he will ever debate, but I’m ready,” Jones added.

Jones then looked directly into the camera and narrowed his challenge to a single issue: data centers.

“Tommy Tuberville says that he has been studying data centers for two years and that these things are gold mines,” Jones said. “If you’ve been studying them and you think you know about them, let’s just debate on data centers, Tommy. Come on, stand up, come to the next town hall I have, and let’s just debate data centers, and then we’ll go from there.”

Saturday’s event marked the eighth stop in Jones’ statewide town hall series, where voters have been permitted to ask questions without screening by the campaign.

The Marshall County audience questioned Jones about Medicaid expansion, women’s reproductive health, education, immigration, Social Security and the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

Jones has made unscreened town halls a centerpiece of his campaign, using the events to answer questions directly from voters. No debate between Jones and Tuberville has been scheduled.

The full town hall livestream can be viewed here.