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Nov. 25 (UPI) — Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones made his attempted political comeback official Monday, announcing he was running for governor of Alabama in next year’s election.

Jones is the last Democrat statewide elected official in the deeply red state after winning a special U.S. Senate election in 2017 only to lose his seat in 2020 to Republican newcomer Tommy Tuberville. The announcement by Jones sets up a likely rematch with Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach, who is also running for governor.

“We’re going to be listening to people across the state,” Jones said in a video posted to X announcing what he called the “worst-kept secret” in the state. “We’re going to do everything we can to bring the people back to the state capitol of Montgomery, Ala.”

A former prosecutor, Jones narrowly won his Senate seat against Republican Roy Moore as he faced accusations of past sexual misconduct, which he denied. Three years later Tuberville beat Jones in a lopsided victory.

Jones said in the video that people in Alabama “deserve a governor who is going to fight for them” and not treat the office as “a rest stop on the way to the Florida beach,” a reference to allegations that Tuberville’s primary residence is in Florida.

The Alabama Democratic Party announced earlier it would challenge Tuberville’s candidacy on the basis he does not meet the state’s residency requirements to run for governor and his primary residence is in Florida.

“Assuming he’s the Democratic nominee and Tuberville’s the Republican nominee, it sets it up for a very interesting matchup with two candidates, both of whom have good name identification, which is a big part of being electable,” said Lori Owens, a political science professor at Jacksonville State University, told AL.com

Owens said the matchup would mean Tuberville would have to campaign harder against Jones because he’d “be running against somebody who has won and who has a career record himself.” Running Jones would also give the Democratic Party more credibility, Owens said.

However, roughly two-thirds of Alabama voters cast straight-party ballots in 2024, with most voting Republican, according to AL.com

Nov. 16 (UPI) — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has returned home from a Pittsburgh hospital after being treated for a fall last week during a morning walk.

“20 stitches later and a full recovery, I’m back home with @giselefetterman and the kids,” he wrote on X, tagging his wife in the post. The photo in the post shows a jagged cut that stretches from above the senator’s right eye, across his forehead and down onto his nose.

“I’m overwhelmed + profoundly grateful for all the well-wishes, ” he continued, and thanked medical professionals at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

A spokesman said Thursday that Fettermen fell during a walk near his Braddock, Pa., home and was transported to the hospital “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Upon evaluation, it was established he had a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that led to Senator Fetterman feeling light-headed, falling to the ground and hitting his face with minor injuries,” according to a spokesperson’s statement.

The spokesperson said doctors kept Fetterman in the hospital overnight to address his medication.

The fall is the latest in a series of medical incidents for Fetterman, who suffered a near-fatal stroke during the 2022 Senate campaign. He was fitted with a defibrillator-equipped pacemaker.

Fetterman’s speech on the campaign trail was noticeably slower and more deliberate, and during a senate with his opponent, Mehmet Oz, he stopped short during his answers to several questions.

The senator later said that he became depressed and acknowledged the toll the campaign took on his physical and mental health.

In 2023, Fetterman checked himself in to Walter Reed National Military Center to be treated for clinical depression and acknowledged how hard the 2022 campaign had been on his mental health.

Earlier this year, staff members said Fetterman had been acting recklessly and displayed volatile behavior, while some also questioned his fitness to serve in the Senate.

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Nov. 7 (UPI) — Democrats are ready to end the federal government shutdown if Republicans agree to extend Affordable Care Act credits for another year, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Friday afternoon.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said Senate Democrats favor passing a temporary funding measure and three other bills that would fund the federal government for one year, CNN reported.

“Democrats are offering a very simple compromise,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

“Now, the ball is in the Republicans’ court,” he added. “We need Republicans to just say yes.”

Schumer’s announcement came after Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., earlier said the Senate will work through the weekend to negotiate reopening the federal government and possibly vote after a bipartisan effort failed Thursday.

Thune wanted to hold another vote on the House-approved continuing resolution to fund the federal government through Nov. 21, but Senate Democrats aren’t on board, he told media earlier Friday.

“Our members are going to be advised to be available if, in fact, there’s a need to vote,” he said.

“We will see what happens and whether or not, over the course of the next couple of days, the Democrats can find their way to re-engage again,” Thune added.

Thune earlier this week expressed optimism that a funding agreement would be made this week, but that ended after Senate Democrats met on Thursday.

“All I know is that the pep rally they had at lunch yesterday evidently changed some minds,” he said Friday.

“We had given them everything they wanted and had asked for,” Thune explained. “At some point, I was gonna say they have to take ‘yes’ for an answer, and they were trending in that direction.”

The impasse is due to Senate Democrats not trusting President Donald Trump to agree to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire after December and to stop firing federal employees, The Hill reported.

Senate Democrats held a working lunch on Thursday, as referenced by Thune, during which they rejected a bipartisan proposal to reopen the government.

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Angus King, I-Maine, had worked out a deal with the GOP, which buoyed Thune’s hope of ending the government shutdown on its record 38th day.

Senate Democrats discussed the bipartisan proposal during their Thursday lunch and rejected it due to their distrust of the president.

The proposal would have included a short-term funding measure to reopen the government and a three-year appropriations bill that would have funded the Agriculture Department, Veterans Affairs, military construction and the legislative branch.

The USDA funding would have meant full funding for currently suspended Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

Lacking strong guarantees that the president would support extending Affordable Care Act credits that initially were enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic and that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, the Senate Democrats said they won’t support the bipartisan plan to move forward.

Despite the continued opposition from Senate Democrats, Thune doesn’t expect the shutdown to continue into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the end of the month, he said while appearing on Fox News Friday.

Thune needs at least five more Senate Democrats to join with Democratic Party Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and King, who caucuses with Senate Democrats, to approve the continuing resolution.

Fetterman, Masto and King consistently have voted in favor of continuing the 2025 fiscal year budget while negotiating the budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which started on Oct. 1.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is the only Republican senator to continually vote against the measure.

The House-approved continuing resolution consistently has received a majority of support in the Senate, but it has not received the 60 votes needed to overcome the Senate’s filibuster rule for passage.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla announced Tuesday that he will not run for California governor next year, ending months of speculation about the possibility of the Democrat vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“It is with a full heart and even more commitment than ever that I am choosing to not run for governor of California next year,” Padilla told reporters outside his Senate office in Washington.

Padilla instead said he will focus on countering President Trump’s agenda in Congress, where Democrats are currently on the minority in both the House and Senate, but hope to regain some political clout after the 2026 midterm elections.

“I choose not just to stay in the Senate. I choose to stay in this fight because the constitution is worth fighting for. Our fundamental rights are worth fighting for. Our core values are worth fighting for. The American dream is worth fighting for,” he said.

Padilla said his decision was influenced by his belief that under President Trump, “these are not normal times.”

“We deserve better than this,” he said.

Many contenders, no clear favorite

Padilla’s decision to bow out of the 2026 governor’s race will leave a prominent name out of an already crowded contest with many contenders but not a clear favorite.

For much of the year, the field was essentially frozen in place as former Vice President Kamala Harris debated whether she would run, with many donors and major endorsers staying out of the game. Harris said at the end of July that she wouldn’t run. But another potential candidate — billionaire developer Rick Caruso — remains a question mark.

Caruso said Monday night that he was still considering running for either governor or Los Angeles mayor, and will decide in the next few weeks.

“It’s a really tough decision,” Caruso said. “Within a few weeks or so, or something like that, I’ll probably have a decision made. It’s a big topic of discussion in the house with my kids and my wife.”

Major Democratic candidates include former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, current California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former state Controller Betty Yee and wealthy businessman Stephen Cloobeck. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton are the most prominent Republicans running.

Amid fire recovery aftermath, immigration raids and a high-octane redistricting battle, California voters have yet to turn their attention to next year’s gubernatorial matchup, despite the vast power Newsom’s successor will wield. California is now the world’s fourth-largest economy, and policy decisions in the Golden State often have global repercussions. Newsom is nearing the end of his second and final term.

Recent polling shows the contest as wide open, with nearly 4 in 10 voters surveyed saying they are undecided, though Porter had a slight edge as the top choice in the poll. She and Bianco were the only candidates whose support cracked the double digits.

Candidates still have months to file their paperwork before the June 2 primary to replace Newsom.

June incident brought attention

Known for soft-spoken confidence and a lack of bombast, Padilla’s public profile soared in June after he found himself cuffed by federal agents, at the center of a staggering viral moment during a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Despite identifying himself, Padilla was tackled after trying to interrupt Noem with a question. The manhandling of California’s senior senator was filmed by a staffer and broadcast around the world, provoking searing and widespread condemnation.

Days later, Vice President JD Vance joked about the incident and referred to Padilla — his former Senate colleague — as “Jose Padilla,” a misnaming that Padilla suggested was intentional and others characterized as racist.

The event put Padilla on the national spotlight and rumors of Padilla’s interest in the gubernatorial race ignited in late August.

Padilla told reporters on Tuesday that he received an “outpouring of encouragement and offers of support for the idea” of his candidacy and that he had “taken it to heart”

Alongside his wife, Angela, the senator said he also heard from many people urging him to keep his fight going in Washington.

“Countless Californians have urged me to do everything i could to protect California and the American Dream from a vindictive president who seems hell bent on raising costs for working families, rolling back environmental protections, cutting access to healthcare, jeopardizing reproductive rights and more,” he said.

Padilla said he had listened.

“I will continue to thank them and honor their support by continuing to work together for a better future,” he said.

Ceballos reported from Washington, Wick from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Noah Goldberg, in Los Angeles, contributed to this report.