Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has announced he’s running to be the next governor of Alabama.

The news of Tuberville running for governor was revealed after he launched a campaign site announcing his run.

Before being elected as a U.S. Senator, Tuberville coached football at the University of Auburn in Alabama.

Tuberville is looking to succeed Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, as she cannot run in the upcoming election due to term limits.

Here’s what NBC News reported:

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Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is running for governor of Alabama, he announced Tuesday with the launch of a campaign website.

If successful, the long-expected move will cap a whirlwind decade for Tuberville. In 2016, he was still working as the University of Cincinnati’s head football coach (he previously coached at Auburn University in Alabama). In 2020, he won a seat representing Alabama in the United States Senate, his first foray into elected office.

With this decision, he could end 2026 as the governor-elect. Tuberville is seeking to succeed Gov. Kay Ivey, a fellow Republican who is finishing her second term and cannot run for a third consecutive term.

His prominence in Alabama, driven by his football career, helped jump-start his political turn, with Tuberville framing himself as a political outsider who still sports the moniker “coach.”

He has also positioned himself close to President Donald Trump, who endorsed his 2020 Senate bid over former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom Trump had picked from the Senate to join his Cabinet but then fired after the 2018 midterm election.

Per The Hill:

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R) announcement that he plans to run for governor next year will open up his Senate seat to potentially an array of candidates.

Tuberville is the second Senate Republican so far to reveal they won’t seek reelection to their seat in 2026, after Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced in February his pending retirement from office. But Tuberville’s announcement could mark the continuation of the former football coach’s political career as Gov. Kay Ivey (R) is term limited.

Several possible candidates have been rumored to be looking at entering the race for the seat, particularly on the Republican side, as Alabama is one of the most conservative-leaning states in the country.

State Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) has already expressed some openness publicly to running for the seat if Tuberville ran for governor. Marshall is unable to run for attorney general for a third term and has ruled out a gubernatorial bid, but not another office.

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Marshall said during an interview on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” in March that he has “great support” for what Tuberville has done in the Senate but would consider throwing his hat in the ring if the seat became open.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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