Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) has hired 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ron Sparks as his office’s regional director for the Middle District of Alabama, which includes Montgomery and Dothan.

“Ron has a long record of distinguished service to Alabama, and I know he’ll be an invaluable asset to my team,” Jones said in a statement, according to Alabama News Network. “I look forward to having him lead our outreach efforts in the Middle District and to continue to provide first-class constituent service.”

Sparks is the former Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, having gained elected in 2002 and re-election in 2006.

He lost to Republican nominee Robert Bentley in the 2010 gubernatorial race, after which Bentley hired Sparks to be director of the state Office of Rural Development. He served in that position from 2011 until Governor Kay Ivey assumed office and abolished the position in 2017. That move made Sparks the second state official to lose his job under Ivey, the first being Rebekah Caldwell Mason’s husband.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn