“Sessions is facing a much tougher fight to win the Republican nomination than most political insiders likely anticipated,” Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy told the Daily News.
In the hypothetical general election match-ups, Sessions beats Jones by 13 percentage points, while Tuberville and Byrne outpace Jones by 8 points and 9 points, respectively.
Almost 90 percent of black respondents said they would vote for Jones over Sessions or any other GOP candidate. The same was largely true in 2017, though Jones also benefited from a Republican establishment who rejected Moore, who was accused of sexual misconduct and assault, including one instance with a minor.
However, last year Jones faced a dispute with his state’s Democratic Party over control of the organization when the current chair, Nancy Worley, revived allegations of racial discrimination after Jones called for her to step down. Both Jones and Worley are white though their main allies are black.
During his first term, Jones has been faced with a presidential impeachment trial, in which he voted to convict the president on articles of impeachment despite polls showing that the decision was unpopular among voters in his state. Sessions, a former Trump Cabinet member, represents the opposite side of that spectrum.
Earlier this week Trump predicted Jones would lose the seat after he “cast a partisan vote for the Impeachment Hoax.”
Jones has raised $7.6 million, according to the Federal Election Commission, compared to Tuberville’s $2.3 million and about $360,000 for Sessions. Whoever Jones faces after the primary on Super Tuesday will likely receive a financial boost from the party.
The poll surveyed 625 registered Alabama voters from Feb. 4-6 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.