Former Auburn Tigers football coach and current senior Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville should be all set to announce his gubernatorial bid in the Yellowhammer State for the 2026 election for governor.
And he should be able to clear the hurdle of required time as a resident in the state.
"Tuberville told Alabama Daily News that he has made up his mind about whether or not he will run to be Alabama’s next governor in 2026, but stopped short of directly saying what that decision is," the Alabama Daily News's Alex Angle wrote.
"Tuberville told Alabama Daily News there will be an in-person event for his announcement. Congress will be on recess next week.
"With Tuberville’s expected announcement, questions over his ability to meet the state’s seven-year residency requirements for governor are expected to grow. Tuberville remains confident he meets the requirements laid out in the Alabama Constitution. Records obtained by Alabama Daily News show he has had a homestead exemption on his Auburn home since 2018, which could be one factor used to determine residency in the race."
Tuberville sounded undeterred by those laws.
“It’s amazing how people even get interested in that,” Tuberville said.
The charismatic coach from 1999-2008 burned bridges in Mississippi on his way from Oxford to the Plains. His exit from Auburn was one of the most well-received of his career, hence him being welcomed back any time.
Tuberville would continue the tradition of Auburn-connected governors after Kay Ivey, an AU alum, served and still serves. Robert J. Bentley, who served before Ivey, was an alum of Alabama and UAB.