As an ordained minister, Jones believes that his life has been guided along the way. “God will open doors at the right moment in time,” he said, adding that his job has been to walk through them. For Jones, those open door moments included the time when, at 8 years old, he was taken by his dad to meet then-Governor Bill Clinton. “What’s a governor?” Jones asked his father so that he could set his sights on emulating Clinton.

Another door opened when Jones witnessed the Challenger space shuttle disaster, an event that made him want to become an astronaut and led him to study physics and math at Morehouse and nuclear engineering at MIT. Jones explained his pursuits of both science and politics with a “common love and passion for solving problems.”

Running as a scientist in a climate where basic facts about diseases and the environment are being called into question, Jones pushed back against prevailing ideas about rural ignorance. “Farmers know how to understand science,” he said, discussing the details of how to successfully raise crops. The real issue, Jones argues, is to recognize the motivations behind disagreements and to approach discussions accordingly. ”Sometimes you’re having a conversation around facts and sometimes you’re having a conversation about ideology,” Jones said.

For the latter, trying to convince someone that they are wrong is less impactful than convincing them that you share common values. Jones quipped that he speaks “20 languages,” including “scientist,” “Black man,” “girl dad” and “Morehouse,” among many other facets of his life. And he uses these experiences to speak to voters in the language that they understand.

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