Tuberville to run for U.S. senator in Alabama

Tommy Tuberville, the former college football coach whose stops have included Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Cincinnati, has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat held by Doug Jones, the Democrat who won the special election for the seat Jeff Sessions resigned to become attorney general.

“I learned leadership, communication skills, bringing people together and that’s what you do in a job like this,” Tuberville, a Camden native, told Fox & Friends. “You use all those skills and try to make everybody better. I want to build a winning strategy for Alabama and for this country.”

Sean Spicer, the former press secretary to President Donald Trump, is working on Tuberville’s campaign, he confirmed to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd. Tuberville will face Bradley Byrne, a congressman from Fairhope, Ala., in the March 3 primary with the general election on Nov. 3, 2020.

A recent poll showed Roy Moore, the controversial figure whom Jones defeated in the 2017 special election, is the front-runner for the Republican nomination but he indicated on Facebook that “the GOP establishment should be more about supporting President Trump and less about someone in Alabama who has not even announced his intentions. The truth is that my stand for the acknowledgment of God and our Constitution scares the Washington establishment to death, and perhaps it should,” wrote Moore, who was supported by Trump in the election. “Let’s face it — the Washington establishment didn’t choose Trump, the people did.”

The poll of 400 registered voters in Alabama who identify as Republicans was conducted April 9-11 and put Moore in the lead with 27 percent, followed by Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville (18 percent); Byrne (13 percent); and Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, (11 percent). Only Byrne has declared himself a candidate.

Tuberville, 64, has name recognition in the state and nationally, compiling a 159-99 record over 21 seasons as a head coach. He was national coach of the year in 2004 and twice was SEC Coach of the Year, with his greatest success coming at Auburn, where he went 85-40 in 10 seasons. In bowl games, he had a 7-6 record.