By Zach Hester, Reporter • zach@southerntorch.com

ALABAMA — A new poll shows a tight race between the Republican candidates seeking to defeat Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) in November.

The poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy from February 4 through February 6 with 400 likely Republican primary voters surveyed. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 5 percent and was originally published by the Alabama Daily News. 

The survey shows a narrow lead for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions at 31 percent, followed by former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville at 29 percent, and U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.) at 17 percent. Former Alabama Chief Justice and 2017 nominee for the seat Roy Moore polled at 5 percent with all other candidates receiving less than 2 percent. 16 percent of the polled voters were undecided. 

In a statement made to the Alabama Daily News, Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy said, “Sessions is facing a much tougher fight to win the Republican nomination than most political insiders likely anticipated.” 

The poll also showed head-to-head matchups in a potential Republican runoff election. Those matchups can be found here:

A second poll was conducted regarding the general election. A total of 625 registered Alabama voters were surveyed with the margin of error at +/- 4 percentage points.

This poll tracked the chances of the top three Republican candidates (Byrne, Sessions, and Tuberville) against Jones in a general election. The poll found Sessions defeating Jones 54-41, Tuberville defeating Jones 50-42, and Byrne defeating Jones 51-42. 

The primary elections in Alabama will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.