MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Democratic candidate for governor Ron Sparks is gambling with his looks in the closing weeks of the primary election.

Sparks has shaved off the mustache he’s worn since the 1970s. He’s cut his hair shorter and moved the part from the middle to the left side. And he’s changed his glasses, going from dark frames to light wire frames.

Sparks says he was getting his hair cut on April Fool’s Day in Birmingham and told the barber to zip off the mustache.

Sparks’ daughter, Misty Dixon of Montgomery, was the most surprised. She says she had never seen her 57-year-old father without a mustache, but getting rid of the gray facial hair makes him look younger.