WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville said he is looking at a run for governor of Alabama in 2026, saying he thinks he has a good chance to win the state’s top office.
Tuberville told Alabama Daily News he hasn’t made up his mind yet and admitted it would be hard to leave the current Republican majority in Congress. However, the governor’s office does interest him.
“If you’re the CEO of a state then you can help more in a certain amount of time,” Tuberville told ADN. “I’m not going to be up here forever, even if I do stay.”
The former Auburn football coach has been rumored to be mulling a run for governor for months. This week, Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio reignited those rumors after posting his brief conversation with Tuberville.
Tuberville said he hasn’t talked to President Donald Trump about a possible run, but he said he has brought it up with Senate leadership and other senators who were previously governors.
He also said he’s been encouraged by the response from people in Alabama who are interested in seeing him run.
“I’ll have people here today, ask me, ‘What are you going to do, coach? We need you to come back,'” Tuberville told ADN. “We have all the county commissioners coming from the state of Alabama this week, and it’s encouraging that I’d have a good opportunity to win, but also can win this one, this seat.”
Tuberville said it would still be hard to give up a seat in the U.S. Senate, especially with Republicans in control of Congress and the White House.
There is an open race for governor as current Gov. Kay Ivey is term limited. Others who have discussed a run in 2026 include Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, who said he won’t make an announcement until after the legislative session, and Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate, who has said he hasn’t ruled it out.