Alabama Republican senator Tommy Tuberville, a vocal Trump supporter, is considering a run for governor of the state.
There has not been an open race for Tuberville's Senate seat since the 1990s. Tuberville would likely easily win re-election next year, but if he gives up his current job, Senate Republicans will have to defend the seat in the 2026 midterms.
"I'm considering it," Tuberville told reporters. "My wife and I and family, we've sat down once, and we really talked hard about it. I want to do what's best for the people of Alabama. Is it here or is it in the governor's seat back in Montgomery?"
A former Auburn University football coach, Tuberville is a popular figure in Alabama. During his time in the Senate, he has stood out as one of the most outspoken defenders of Trump in the chamber.
The current governor of Alabama, Republican Kay Ivey, is term-limited, setting the stage for a crowded Republican primary.
If Tuberville runs, the primary will shift to a "clash of titans" between Tuberville and Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth, the state's GOP chair John Wahl said.
“Sen. Tuberville is a bold conservative. He is someone that does not mind being politically incorrect and taking the hard stance for conservative values and I think that’s a great trait that our elected officials need in today’s politics,” Wahl told the Daily Caller.
For now, Tuberville is keeping his cards close to the vest. But according to reports, he has been telling colleagues that he wants to come home to Alabama full-time.
Tuberville told WVTM 13 that he will "probably" make a decision in May, and he's leaning towards running for governor. The primary is on May 26.
Tuberville is not the only Senator considering a run for governor next year. Republican senator Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee, is also weighing a run in her state, and Democrat Michael Bennet, of Colorado, has already launched a campaign.
Unlike Tuberville, Blackburn and Bennet are not facing re-election next year, so they do not have to give up their current jobs to run for governor.
If Tuberville resigns, there will be the first open race for the Senate seat since 1996. Alabama was once a Democratic stronghold but has been reliably Republican in recent years.
Democrats won a major upset in 2017 when Doug Jones defeated scandal-plagued Roy Moore in a special election for Jeff Sessions' Senate seat. Sessions, who resigned to serve in the first Trump administration, later lost a comeback primary battle to Tuberville, who went on to handily defeat Jones in the general election.
