BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Forget the horse race for a minute. Here’s what Alabama voters say actually matters to them.
Inflation and the cost of living is the runaway number one issue at 37.3% in our exclusive Gray Media Alabama / Alabama Daily News poll of 500 likely 2026 voters (Oct. 16-17, Cygnal, ±4.38%). Nothing else is close.
The rest of the list:
- Corruption in politics: 15.3%
- Illegal immigration / border: 9.7%
- Taxes / government spending: 8.1%
- Jobs / economy: 7.7%
- Healthcare: 4.7%
- Crime: 3.8%
- Data centers: 3.8%
- Roads: 3.1%
- Education: 2.7%
- Abortion: 1.5%
- Gun control: 0.9%
Pocketbook issues alone, inflation plus jobs, are 45% of the electorate. And they split: inflation-first voters favor Doug Jones over Tommy Tuberville for governor 48%-41%, while jobs-first voters favor Tuberville 51%-48%.
“I mean, this was the same top issue from 2024,” said Alabama Daily News Publisher Todd Stacy. “And yet nothing has really been fixed. And so that frustration can really impact voters to think, man, all right, we voted on this last time and still nothing’s better. So I’m not surprised to see that. And folks, and again, politicians better pay attention to it.”
Then there’s Trump
President Donald Trump is still net-positive in Alabama, but softer than his 2024 level of support in a state he carried comfortably. He’s at 49.8% favorable, 46.4% unfavorable (+3.4 net). Compare that to the same poll’s 2024 recall: 58.0% say they voted for Trump, 31.4% for Kamala Harris.
The intensity cuts both ways: 33.5% very favorable, 41.3% very unfavorable. Republicans are 91% favorable; Democrats 98% unfavorable. True swing voters: 32% favorable, 46% unfavorable, with 22% no opinion.
And data centers? Unpopular, but not driving votes
Voters call data centers a net negative for their communities 46% to 19%, with 13% saying neither and 22% unsure. The intensity is lopsided; 31% definitely negative vs. 8% definitely positive, and even a plurality of Republicans rate them negative.
Data centers poll best in the Montgomery region: 24% net positive, with net negative down at 37%, and worst in Mobile, where just 10% call them a net positive and 51% call them a net negative (35% definitely negative).
But only 3.8% name data centers as their top voting issue, tied with crime, well behind inflation.
“The onus has been on that industry, data centers, the AI industry, if you will, to explain what benefits they are bringing,” Stacy explained. “And I think they haven’t really done a very good job of that, especially at the very beginning, except one thing the data showed was here in Montgomery, in the Montgomery media market has the highest net approval. Well, that corresponds because Meta, who is building a data center here in Montgomery has been doing a lot of messaging, both paid and unpaid, um, to get their message out there. And so in the Montgomery and Columbus market, you see those net positives.”
Finally, the Senate number this shapes
Republican Barry Moore leads Democrat Everett Wess 49.8% to 35.0%, with 15.3% undecided.
- Barry Moore (R): 49.8% — 37.1% definitely, 12.6% probably
- Everett Wess (D): 35.0% — 28.6% definitely, 6.3% probably
Moore runs strongest in Huntsville (+26, 52%-26%) and Birmingham (+20, 54%-34%), leads 46%-39% (+7) in Mobile, and it’s tied 43%-42% (+1) in the Montgomery region. Moore takes 93% of committed Republicans, Wess 92% of committed Democrats, but swing undecideds sit at 25%-8% for Moore with 68% still open.
Methodology: Probabilistic survey of 500 likely 2026 general election voters statewide, Oct. 16-17, 2026, via online panel and SMS, weighted to a likely voter universe. Margin of error ±4.38%. Sponsored by Gray Media Alabama and Alabama Daily News; conducted by Cygnal.
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