According to confirmed reports, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) will announce his run for Alabama governor this afternoon, opening up the potential for a hotly-contested open Senate seat in 2026.
There was some speculation that Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth would seek either the governorship or his U.S. Senate seat, though he recently said he doesn’t an interest in being a U.S. Senator, and officially ruled out the possibility of running for governor.
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Another name that has been mentioned is Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
Marshall was asked about his political future during a recent appearance on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal.”
“I think number one is, there is no opening, and I wouldn’t run against Coach Tuberville for Senate. If, in fact, [this] week, or whenever, he announces that he is changing path and going to run for governor, then at that point in time, you know, decisions will be made,” Marshall said.
“There’s no doubt, when you and I have talked here, and like you, broke the story that fall when I said I wasn’t interested in running for governor, there was not a position of a constitutional nature or otherwise in state government that really sort of interested me moving forward.”
Marshall his experience as Attorney General has prepared him to represent Alabamians in Washington D.C.
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“There’s no doubt that, as AG, we’ve done multiple cases and been involved with many of the issues that have overlapped with what goes on in Washington,” he argued, “and no doubt that we’ve been pretty aggressive in asserting Alabama’s interest in that regard.”
Marshall said he’ll make a decision after Tuberville makes an announcement on his future.
“There’s an interest there,” he said, “but we’ll wait and see what Coach Tuberville does, and then be prepared to answer that question fully as the dominoes fall.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee
