Sam Jones is headed back to Montgomery for a second term representing Alabama House District 99, with unofficial results showing him crushing Republican challenger Charlie Watts by a lopsided 75 percent to 25 percent margin. The count stood at 99 percent of votes tallied when the results were reported, according to the figures described as unofficial.
Jones, a Democrat who covers part of Mobile County including sections of the city of Mobile, first won the District 99 seat in 2018, according to AL.com. He kept his spot on the ballot this year by defeating two opponents in the Democratic primary earlier in 2026, per the same outlet's reporting. Watts, meanwhile, faced no opposition in the Republican primary, clearing his own path to Tuesday's general election matchup.
A Familiar Name in Mobile Politics
Jones is no newcomer to local government. He served on the Mobile County Commission from 1985 to 2005 before being elected as Mobile's first Black mayor in 2005, a milestone that preceded two four-year terms in that office. His mayoral run ended when he was defeated by Sandy Stimpson in 2013, and Jones came up short again in a 2017 mayoral bid, according to the same account.
In between those campaigns, Jones was appointed in 2014 to the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System Board of Commissioners, an appointment that the outlet's reporting notes was a subject of racial polarization at the time. He later returned to elected office by winning the District 99 House seat in 2018 and has now secured a second term representing the district.
Watts Brings a Different Resume to the Race
Watts, the Republican who challenged Jones this cycle, is a retired Baptist pastor who previously served on the Semmes City Council, the outlet reports. The unofficial tally shows him trailing well behind the incumbent, with the vote-counting reported at 99 percent complete as of the results described in the AL.com report.
The Mobile County Probate Office reported the unofficial election results for the race, though statewide figures posted separately by the Alabama Secretary of State and the state's probate judges show the broader picture was still coming into focus Tuesday night. The statewide results page listed 277,644 ballots cast out of 3,852,947 registered voters, a 7.21 percent turnout figure, with only 20 of Alabama's 67 counties reported at the time and all numbers labeled unofficial.
What Comes Next for the District
Final certification of the District 99 results has not been reported, and no recount information has surfaced. For now, the unofficial numbers point to a decisive win for Jones in a district that spans part of Mobile County, including portions of the city he once led as mayor.
