BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — In another life, Sen. Tommy Tuberville was one of the top college football coaches in Alabama. Now, he’s going for an even bigger job in the state: governor.
Tuberville, who has represented Alabama in the United States Senate since 2021, announced his campaign for governor Tuesday afternoon during an appearance on “The Will Cain Show” on Fox News, where Cain initially mispronounced Tuberville’s name as “Tooberville” and the Grateful Dead’s “Alabama Getaway” played in the background. The announcement came as Tuberville, who appeared during a rally at Byron’s Smokehouse in Auburn, launched a website marking his campaign.
“My record over the last four years in Washington has proven that I’m not afraid to say it like it is. I believe, as Alabamians do, that men are men and women are women. Allowing men to compete in women’s sports is wrong,” Tuberville wrote on his website. “Poisonous ideologies like Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), which teach our kids to hate each other, should have no place in our government or our schools. And zero taxpayer dollars should go towards abortions. Like President Trump, I’ll continue to protect common sense and stand up for our shared conservative values in Montgomery.”
Prior to getting elected to the Senate, Tuberville was best known as a college football coach, his longest and most significant stint being at Auburn University, where he led the Tigers to a 85-40 record between 1999 and to his resignation in 2008, beating Alabama six times in a row and leading them to a Southeastern Conference win in 2004.
Despite his brief time in politics, Tuberville has been one of President Trump’s most outspoken supporters on Capitol Hill, vigorously defending the administration’s policies, from seeking to prevent transgender people from serving in the military to questioning the results of the 2020 election. In fact, he was even rumored for consideration as Trump’s Secretary of Transportation earlier this year, but Sean Duffy was ultimately confirmed.
However, days following Trump’s reelection last November, Tuberville told CNN’s Manu Raju that he would be running for his Senate seat again.
“Yeah, I’m running,” Tuberville said. “Yeah, I’m getting on up there. I don’t know how many more times I’ll run, but I enjoy it.”
Tuberville’s most notable action in the Senate was blocking hundreds of senior-level promotions set to be filled in the military, citing the Department of Defense’s policy of reimbursing travel costs for pregnant service members seeking abortions. Tuberville’s hold lasted a year from December 2022 to December 2023.
Out of the 271 bills that Tuberville has sponsored in Congress, only one has passed into law: Supporting Families of the Fallen Act, which would increase the maximum coverage amount for members of the Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance program and the Veterans’ Group Life Insurance program from $400,000 to $500,000. He has co-sponsored 539 bills with other Senators, only seven of which have become law:
- Laken Riley Act, originally sponsored by Alabama Sen. Katie Britt
- Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act of 2024
- Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal Act
- Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act
- Veteran Improvement Commercial Driver License Act of 2023
- United States Army Rangers Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act
- Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021
As Senator, Tuberville serves on several committees, including the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Special Committee on Aging.
As Gov. Kay Ivey is not eligible to run for office again after serving two terms, Tuberville is likely to win the Republican nomination for governor. Last week, Lieutenant Gov. Will Ainsworth announced he would not run for office.
Tuberville’s gubernatorial run begins as questions surrounding his residency remain unanswered. According to law, a candidate must live in Alabama for at least seven years to be eligible to run. Different media outlets, including The Washington Post and AL.com, have pointed to campaign finance and property records linking him to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, not Alabama. Despite this, Tuberville has maintained that he and his family have had a homestead exemption since 2018. According to Alabama Daily News, the Tubervilles own a home on Cherry Street in Auburn that remains in his wife’s name.
“There’s not any problem with that,” Tuberville told ADN last April.
The race will be held November 3, 2026.
