Former Auburn football head coach Tommy Tuberville, who has for years considered entering the political arena, has announced a run for U.S. Senate soon.
Sources, who spoke to The Plainsman on background and have worked closely with Tuberville in the past as he considered a run for Alabama governor, confirmed the run Saturday before Tuberville posted an announcement on Twitter.
CBS Sports first reported the news.
The sources said this is "the real deal" and will be a full-fledged run for the Senate seat currently held by Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones.
Tuberville later announced the run on his Twitter feed.
In 2017, Tuberville briefly considered a run for Alabama governor, but decided against stepping into the political arena to pursue the Republican party nomination for the state's highest office.
At the time, Tuberville had just recently moved back to his Lake Martin home and could have faced legal battles over his residency. Alabama law requires candidates for statewide political office to have established residency.
Though Tuberville never confirmed it, he might have decided against a run because Gov. Kay Ivey was the likely Republican nominee, and she eventually chose to pursue the nomination, winning her race for governor easily in 2018.
U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne is the only Republican who has announced their candidacy for U.S. Senate at this time, though several others in the GOP are considering a run for the open nomination.
The Republican primary for the seat will be held in March 2020, and the general election is set for Nov. 3, 2020.
The CBS Sports report said former White House press secretary Sean Spicer is working on Tuberville's campaign.
Tuberville had a long coaching career at Ole Miss, Auburn, Texas Tech and finally at Cincinnati, where he ended his time as a coach.
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Chip Brownlee, senior in journalism and political science, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
