Good Thursday morning, friends!

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high of 99, and a heat index up to 110.

• A Heat Advisory is in effect till Saturday night.

🚧 Situational awareness: Road closures start today at 4pm for the 2026 Para-Cycling Worlds at Cummings Research Park, and continue through Monday night.

• Check the full schedule here.

Today's newsletter is 982 words, a 3.5-minute read.

Town halls and debates — or the lack thereof — have become a flash point in Alabama's midterm elections, particularly the race for governor.

Why it matters: Democratic candidates facing long odds in deep-red Alabama are pushing for more debates, town halls and face time with voters, while Republicans are taking a more selective approach.

Zoom in: Democratic former Sen. Doug Jones has repeatedly challenged GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville to hold a debate in the race for governor, but Tuberville has so far declined.

• It's a similar story in the race for a U.S. House of Representatives seat in Alabama's 5th District, which covers Huntsville, where Democrat Andrew Sneed is challenging Republican incumbent Dale Strong.

Catch up quick: Asked by Axios in Athens last month if he'd hold a town hall or debate, Tuberville said, "probably not."

• "There's so much difference between us, I mean, there's no reason to get up there and argue about differences of opinion," Tuberville said.

The other side: But Jones told Axios that's a major difference: Tuberville sees town halls as a way to tell voters about himself, he said, rather than as an opportunity to hear from voters.

• "Tommy Tuberville represents the same old Alabama state government … they do the things they want to do without regard to the public and what constituents say," Jones said. "You cannot just govern by simply giving speeches to the Chamber of Commerce."

State of play: Sneed and Jones have a slate of town halls scheduled, including in Huntsville, and both tell Axios their requests for debates and town halls have gone unanswered.

The latest: When asked in Huntsville on Monday, Strong had a similar answer for Axios, referencing his telephone town halls and saying, "I'm going to continue to do what I do and let the other people do what they do … I think the people that have supported me appreciate the way I do business."

• "I think that it is the bare minimum, personally," Sneed told Axios on holding town halls, noting that Strong hasn't held an open, public town hall while in office.
• "I find it outrageous," Sneed said. "You can't represent folks you don't listen to."

Story continues below

Voters in North Alabama are unlikely to see candidates on a debate stage ahead of November's midterms.

How it works: It's political calculus, explains Spencer Goidel, political science professor at Auburn University, that hinges on whether the race is competitive.

• He cited the odds on Kalshi, which give Tuberville a roughly 95% chance of winning the governor's race. The Cook Political Report lists Alabama's 5th Congressional District as R+15.
• "Do you want to go out and publicly make yourself vulnerable, where your opponent has an opportunity to … embarrass you?" Goidel told Axios. "Or do you just want Election Day to be tomorrow?"

The bottom line: "These are individuals who respond most strongly to electoral incentives," Goidel said. "Make them fear reelection, and they'll hold debates."

Zoom in: It's a strategy that's coming from the top of the Republican establishment, too.

• NRCC chair Richard Hudson, for instance, told Republicans last year to stop holding in-person town halls following angry confrontations like those faced by Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), who was booed and heckled in Asheville.

Context: Not all Republicans are following that advice, with Axios reporting last month that Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) is still holding regular events that draw hundreds of people.

What they're saying: In an emailed statement to Axios, Tuberville's campaign chair Jordan Doufexis said, "There's nothing new to learn in a debate … Come November, the voters will decide and I am confident they will have enough information to make the right decision."

"Probably the biggest difference in me and Tuberville (is) our approach to leadership, how I listen to people," Jones said. "He's riding the roads talking to ChatGPT. I'm talking to voters."

Read the whole story

Huntsville-based engineering and software firm Invariant was included on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list, ranking as one of the country's fastest-growing companies.

Zoom in: The employee-owned company announced the recognition Wednesday, noting that it has grown revenue by 265% from 2022 to 2025.

Driving the news: Co-founder and CEO David Anderson told Axios Wednesday that the company has expanded its work in several areas over the past few years to drive that growth.

• Those include new systems supporting counter-UAS activities, weapons integration, tactical missile work and training equipment and capabilities.

What they're saying: "We are an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), so we're really excited about the opportunity it gives the employees to share in that increase," Anderson told Axios.

• The company, founded in 2001, has been growing in employees, too, he said, from 119 in 2023 to 167 in 2024, 203 last year and 240 currently.

What we're watching: Currently co-located with Torch Technologies in a building just north of Martin Road on South Memorial Parkway, Anderson said Invariant is preparing to expand facilities to add more space for engineering and production.

⛔️ Newk's Eatery on Whitesburg Drive has closed permanently. (AL.com 🔐)

✅ The Huntsville City Council on Tuesday officially certified the results of the Aug. 25 municipal election and declared a runoff for District 3. (City of Huntsville)

📸 Madison broke ground on the "MADiSON Letters," a 6.5-foot-tall interactive public art installation at Town Madison. (256Today)

🍗 Derek's planning to roll out the smoker this weekend to kick off football season.

Thanks to Crystal Hill for editing this newsletter.