Tuberville files paperwork to enter Alabama governor's race
[January 06, 2026]
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville
filed paperwork Monday to officially enter the 2026 race for Alabama
governor, saying he wants to be the “chief recruiter to make our state
better.”
Tuberville, who leveraged fame from his Auburn University football
coaching days to win election to the U.S. Senate in 2020, announced last
year that he planned to run for governor instead of seeking another
Senate term. He signed paperwork at the Alabama Republican Party
headquarters on Monday to officially enter the race.
“It’s time to come home, put together a staff and worry about the state
of Alabama and the people here. People deserve a better state every day
that they live here,” Tuberville said after filing the campaign
paperwork.
Tuberville’s entry into the race is likely to discourage other
Republicans from joining the field vying to replace Republican Gov. Kay
Ivey. On the Democratic side, former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who lost to
Tuberville in 2020, is also running for governor, setting up a possible
rematch in November.
Speaking with reporters Monday, Tuberville said business recruitment
would be among his top priorities if elected governor.
“We have 500,000 people in this state who make less than $30,000 a year.
That should be against the law. We’ve got to get people better jobs.
We’ve got to incentivize people to work,” Tuberville said.
The Republican said education, infrastructure and addressing fraud would
also be a priority if elected, but he did not divulge specific
proposals. He said he does not oppose starting a state lottery but said
it does not provide enough money for the state to depend on as a revenue
source.
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U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speaks about plans to run for
the governor of Alabama in 2026, May 27, 2025 at Byron's Smokehouse
in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ John David Mercer, File)
Democrats have questioned if Tuberville meets the residency
requirement to be governor. The Alabama Constitution states that
governors must have been “resident citizens of this state” for at
least seven years. Property tax records show that Tuberville owns a
$270,000 home in Auburn, where he claims a homestead exemption, and
a $4 million beach home in Walton County, Florida.
“I have been a resident. It’s not an issue,” Tuberville said Monday.
Asked where he spent most of his time outside of Washington,
Tuberville said Auburn, adding that he’s not home very often but
“went to almost every football game down there this year.”
Tuberville won his Senate election by casting himself as a political
outsider closely aligned with President Donald Trump. In 2023,
Tuberville maintained a monthslong blockade on military promotions
over his opposition to a Pentagon policy that provided travel funds
and support for troops and their dependents who seek abortions but
are based in states where they are now illegal.
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