During a recent appearance on the Fox News Channel, the former football coach at both Auburn and the University of Mississippi announced that he is leaving the Senate and is running for governor. Current Republican Governor Kay Ivy is term-limited.
Tommy Tuberville is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump. Since he is launching a gubernatorial campaign, a source familiar said it would be a “done deal” if Tuberville got an endorsement from Trump. Tuberville affirmed on Fox News that Trump was “fully supportive.”
Jameson Taylor is Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs at the American Family Association. He says Trump's endorsement should help make Tuberville the odds-on favorite.
"Tommy Tuberville has a great chance of becoming Alabama's next governor. He's been fairly conservative as a US senator, he's pretty popular, and we're seeing that he's coming out early to basically discourage any folks from running against him. It's been an open secret in Alabama that Tuberville has been thinking about running for governor, and he is the odds-on favorite."
Taylor says there are a couple of reasons why Tuberville would leave a safe Senate seat and opt for the governor's mansion.
"If you want to really lead, you need to be in the states. Nowadays, a governor has a chance to really lead, to being innovative in terms of policy, and basically to set the pace for the rest of the country. If you really want to do something important, the states are where the action is.
“A second reason that I think he's making that jump is because his seat is perceived as a Republican seat. State Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) just announced that he is going to be running for that seat, and he seems to be a pretty strong candidate."
Marshall has expressed interest in the past in running for Tuberville’s seat if he stepped down, and he is presently term-limited as attorney general since he has been serving in 2017. It is no surprise that Marshall has announced his candidacy.
Taylor says it is unlikely that the Democrats are going to challenge for that seat.
