Tommy Tuberville Announces Run For Governor To ‘Put Alabama First’

Sen. Tommy Tuberville announced on Tuesday that he will run to be the next governor of Alabama.

Tuberville announced his gubernatorial bid from Byron’s Smokehouse in Auburn, Alabama, the same spot he announced his bid for U.S. Senate, his first run for elected office, in 2019. The former longtime college football coach enters the race as the favorite after other notable Republicans passed on entering the race.

“President Trump was a guy that really was behind me in doing the Senate race. He’s been behind me ever since. And, today, I will announce that I will be the future governor of the great state of Alabama,” Tuberville said during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show.”

Tuberville leaned into his ties to President Donald Trump during his announcement, though the president has yet to make an official endorsement in the Alabama race.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do nationally. I’m looking forward to that with President Trump. He’s got us on the right track,” Tuberville continued. “Meantime, I will be running every weekend, doing the things I need to do to make sure that I can get over the threshold and win this governor’s race, come back to Alabama, and work with President Trump … because he’s fully supportive of this, to keep making America great again and put Alabama first.”

Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) announces he is running for Governor of Alabama.

“Today I will announce that I will be the future Governor of the great state of Alabama.”

“I’ve still got 18 months to go with President Trump to Make America Great Again. We’ve got a lot of work… pic.twitter.com/SfxTyRYEkh

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) May 27, 2025

Tuberville’s announcement has long been expected. Expectations about his eventual candidacy warded off other potential candidates. Republican Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth announced last week that he would be forgoing the opportunity to run.

The Alabama gubernatorial race will be to replace outgoing Republican Governor Kay Ivey, who is termed out.

Tuberville began his career in politics toppling Democratic former Sen. Doug Jones from the U.S. Senate in 2020. Jones won a 2017 special election to replace former Sen. Jeff Sessions, who had left the Senate to serve as Trump’s attorney general. Sessions ran to reclaim his old seat in 2020, but lost in the GOP primary to Tuberville.

As for who might replace Tuberville in the Senate, Semafor on Tuesday reported that Auburn University’s men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl seems to be eyeing a run. Pearl is “an outspoken Israel supporter and opponent of antisemitism,” Semafor notes.