US Sen. Tommy Tuberville announces 2026 bid for Alabama governor

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who entered politics after a successful career as a head football coach at Auburn and three other major college programs, announced Tuesday that he is running for governor of Alabama next year.

“Today, I will announce that I will be the future governor of the great state of Alabama,” Tuberville said on “The Will Cain Show” on Fox News, following weeks of speculation.

"I’m a football coach. I’m a leader. I’m a builder. I’m a recruiter, and we’re going to grow Alabama," Tuberville said, pledging to improve education and bring manufacturing to the state while stopping illegal immigration.

Tuberville is expected to be a formidable entry in the race to succeed Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who cannot run again because of term limits.

Tuberville made the announcement in front of his family and friends at an Auburn barbecue restaurant. Many wore baseball hats with the word “Coach” that were distributed in the colors of both Auburn University and the University of Alabama. Tuberville is often just called coach instead of senator by those who work closely with him.

Speaking with reporters after his announcement, Tuberville didn't disclose many specifics about his plan to improve education other than an emphasis on K-12 schools. He said there should pressure on administrators to boost student improvement and to look at getting more money into schools. He praised the state's new school voucher program but said, "it can be better.”

“I think there's way too much emphasis on higher education. If you can't read and you can't write, you can't learn,” Tuberville said.

Tuberville harnessed fame from his college coaching days to win election to the U.S. Senate in 2020, casting himself as a political outsider closely aligned with President Donald Trump. “God sent us Donald Trump,” Tuberville said during his campaign. In the 2020 Republican primary, Tuberville defeated former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who held the Senate seat for two decades before resigning to become Trump’s attorney general in 2017. Months later, Tuberville defeated incumbent Doug Jones, who had been the first Alabama Democrat elected to the Senate in decades.

During his time in the Senate, Tuberville has continued to align himself closely with Trump. In 2023, he 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.

Jones said that his former opponent has been an “embarrassment” for the state, for his blockage on military promotions and verbal fumbles.

“He has been a failed U.S. senator. No one can point to a single thing in the four-plus years that he has been in office that he was able to accomplish for the state or the country. On the other hand, he has embarrassed the state,” Jones said.

Bill Armistead, the former chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said Tuberville’s presence will make other would-be candidates “think twice” about jumping in the gubernatorial race.

“I would be very surprised if Senator Tuberville is not elected governor of the state of Alabama,” Armistead said.

Tuberville, a native of Arkansas, was the head football coach at Auburn from 1999 to 2008, where he led the team to eight consecutive bowl appearances and one Southeastern Conference championship. He also served as head coach at Mississippi, Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati, retiring in 2016.

Tuberville faced questions about his residency in the 2020 Senate race, when his political opponents referred to him as a “Florida man” or a “tourist in Alabama” as they questioned if he lived in the state.

There is a higher residency requirement for governor. The Alabama Constitution requires that governors must have been “resident citizens of this state at least seven years next before the date of their election.”

Property tax records show he owns a $270,000 home in Auburn, where he claims a homestead exemption, and a $4 million beach home in Walton County, Florida.

Voting records show that Tuberville switched his voter registration from Florida to Alabama in 2019. He and his wife last voted in Florida on Nov. 6, 2018.

Randy Kelley, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, said they intend to “challenge his residency in the courts.”

Tuberville said he meets the residency requirements.

“They’ve been bringing that up. It won’t be a problem. ... A lot of other people have houses down there (Florida), but this is my home,” he said of Auburn.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., greets supporters following announcing his plans to run for the governor of Alabama in 2026, Tuesday May 27, 2025 at Byron's Smokehouse in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ John David Mercer)

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., holds his granddaughter Rosie Grace Tuberville after he announced his plans to run for the governor of Alabama in 2026, Tuesday May 27, 2025 at Byron's Smokehouse in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ John David Mercer)

Ball caps for U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., seen on a table as he speaks about plans to run for the governor of Alabama in 2026, Tuesday May 27, 2025 at Byron's Smokehouse in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ John David Mercer)

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speaks to supporters about plans to run for the governor of Alabama in 2026, Tuesday May 27, 2025 at Byron's Smokehouse in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ John David Mercer)

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speaks about plans to run for the governor of Alabama in 2026, Tuesday May 27, 2025 at Byron's Smokehouse in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ John David Mercer)

FILE - Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., questions retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan "Razin" Caine during his confirmation hearing on his nomination to be promoted to general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, April 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)