Emily Jones wins GOP nomination for State Board of Education District 8 seat
Emily Jones, chair of the Madison County Moms for Liberty Chapter (left), will won the Republican Primary Runoff on June 16, 2026. Jones will face Democratic nominee Shatika Armstrong (right), an executive assistant at Alabama A&M University. (Photos courtesy of candidates; Graphic by Andrea Tinker/Alabama Reflector)
The chair of an Alabama Moms for Liberty Chapter has won the GOP nomination for a north Alabama State Board of Education seat.
According to the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, Emily Jones received 18,629 (53.55%) votes for the SBOE District 8 seat, which covers Limestone, Madison, DeKalb and Jackson counties. William Matthews got 16,162 (46.45%) votes in unofficial returns.
Jones said in an interview Thursday afternoon that she was excited for her win.
“We put in a lot of hard work for over a year now, so we were very happy to see that all of that hard work finally paid off, and at least for the moment we can take a sigh of relief,” she said.
Jones, who founded and chairs the Madison County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative organization that campaigns against school curricula mentioning race, ethnicity and LGBTQ+ rights, said her priorities would be implementing policies so the state Legislature passes fewer bills that impact public education.
Matthews ran a low-profile campaign and did not have a website. The only information found on the candidate was an endorsement from the Christian Coalition of Alabama. Jones said she wasn’t surprised by the amount of votes Matthews got in the election.
“He got so many in the primary, we knew that there was kind of an unknown to all of that, so we kind of expected that there would be some turnout there,” she said.
In the May primary, Jones received 20,354 (42.31%) votes while Matthews secured 15,504 (32.23%) votes in official returns.
According to campaign filings, Jones raised $36,300 and spent $31,300. Matthews raised $96,400 and spent $121,100.
The seat is currently held by Republican Wayne Reynolds, who chose not to seek re-election. Jones will face Democratic nominee Shatika Armstrong, an executive assistant at Alabama A&M University, in the November election. A message seeking comment was left with Armstrong Thursday afternoon.