2026 election questions
Where do candidates stand?
Meeting and talking with candidates as they campaign for your vote helps shape the conversation and let them know which issues are most important to their constituents. Below are some questions you can ask and info you can share when meeting candidates. Please let us know what you hear back!
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Funding public services
Alabama’s tax system is upside down. People with low incomes pay a higher share of their income in state and local taxes – double the amount paid by wealthier Alabamians. Alabama gives tax breaks and incentives to wealthy individuals and large corporations that are not accessible to low-income families and small businesses.
Alabama is the only state still providing the outdated federal income tax deduction, which costs our state $1.3 billion in lost revenue every year and overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest households. At the same time, when Arise proposes policy solutions to help folks get ahead, we often hear lawmakers claim the state doesn’t have enough money.
Congress last year passed HR 1 (aka the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), which will cut $1.5 trillion from services like healthcare and food assistance to give more tax breaks to billionaires and highly profitable corporations. Because of this cut, Alabama may need to pay up to $261 million in additional state money to fund SNAP in 2027.
Questions for legislators or statewide candidates: Would you support getting rid of the outdated federal income tax deduction, which costs Alabama more than $1 billion a year and mostly helps wealthy households, while also ending the state grocery tax to help everyone? If not, what is your plan to untax groceries sustainably and responsibly?
Alabama is one of three states with no state dollars set aside for public transportation, and one of five with no funds directed toward affordable housing. Would you support providing dedicated state funding for affordable housing through the Alabama Housing Trust Fund, and for transportation through the Public Transportation Trust Fund?
Question for congressional candidates: Will you work to repeal the harmful spending cuts in HR 1, particularly Medicaid and SNAP cuts that will hurt Alabama for decades?
Health equity
Rural hospitals across Alabama face ongoing financial strain. More than 1 in 3 Alabama counties offer no maternity care services. Around 160,000 Alabamians fall into the health coverage gap, earning too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford private insurance. The income limit for a single parent with two children to qualify for Medicaid is just $410 a month. That leaves many working families without affordable health coverage.
Questions for legislators or statewide candidates: Do you support Medicaid expansion to keep rural hospitals open, reduce maternal and infant mortality, help families afford healthcare and help low-wage workers stay healthy enough to work? If not, what is your specific plan to stabilize rural hospitals and improve healthcare?
Questions for congressional candidates: Will you pledge to repeal the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts passed in HR 1, protect Medicare and make health insurance more affordable?
What will you do to hold healthcare corporations accountable for high costs?
Hunger relief
More than 750,000 Alabama families use SNAP to help put food on the table. In 2025, Congress enacted HR 1, aka the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will shift more SNAP costs onto states. Alabama may have to pay an additional $175 million next year just to ensure families continue to receive SNAP benefits.
About 1 in 6 Alabamians struggle with food insecurity, including more than 1 in 5 Alabama children. One positive step Alabama has taken in recent years is expanding no-cost school breakfast to more classrooms with increased state funding. We would like to expand this program to every school.
Questions for legislators or statewide candidates: Will you pledge to find new revenue to protect SNAP funding in next year’s state budget? Will you pledge to expand funding for no-cost school breakfast and lunch programs?
Questions for congressional candidates: Will you help families put food on the table by fighting to protect SNAP funding and roll back cuts to SNAP in HR 1? If not, what is your proposed solution to reduce hunger?