Tommy Tuberville

Tommy Tuberville, born Thomas Hawley Tuberville on September 18, 1954, in Camden, Ouachita County, Arkansas, was the youngest of three children of Charles and Olive Tuberville.⁠[1][2]

He graduated from Harmony Grove High School in 1972 and attended Southern State College (now Southern Arkansas University) in Magnolia from 1972 to 1976, where he lettered in football and played on the golf team for two years, earning a bachelor of science degree in 1976.⁠[1][2]

Tuberville began coaching at Hermitage High School in Arkansas, where he spent three years, the last as head coach; in 1980 he became an assistant to Larry Lacewell at Arkansas State University.⁠[1]

From 1986 he worked at the University of Miami as a graduate assistant and had become defensive coordinator by 1993, during which time the school won three national championships; in 1994 he was defensive coordinator at Texas A&M University.⁠[1][3]

His first NCAA head coaching job was at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where he was named Southeastern Conference (SEC) Coach of the Year in 1997 and compiled a 25–20 record.⁠[1]

From 1999 to 2008 Tuberville was head football coach at Auburn University; in the 2004 season the team went 13–0 and won the SEC championship, and he was named SEC Coach of the Year and national Coach of the Year by four organizations.⁠[1][3]

He led Auburn to eight consecutive bowl games and five SEC Western Division titles, and resigned after a 5–7 season in 2008 with an overall record of 85–40 at the school.⁠[1][3]

From 2010 to 2012 he was head coach at Texas Tech University, with a 20–17 record; he then coached at the University of Cincinnati for four years, going 29–22 and sharing the American Athletic Conference title in his second season.⁠[1]

He retired after the 2016 season ranked among the 50 winningest coaches in college football history, and later joined ESPN’s broadcast staff, working alongside Mike Patrick.⁠[1][3]

Tuberville moved his residency to Alabama in 2018 and ran in the 2020 U.S. Senate election in Alabama with the endorsement of Donald Trump.⁠[1][4]

In the Republican primary on March 3, 2020, he finished first of seven candidates with 33.4% (239,616 votes), ahead of Jeff Sessions with 31.6%; in the July 14 runoff he defeated Sessions by 60.7% (334,675 votes) to 39.3% (216,452).⁠[2]

On November 3, 2020, he defeated incumbent Democratic Senator Doug Jones by 1,392,076 votes (60.1%) to 920,478 (39.7%).⁠[2]

Tuberville took office as a U.S. senator from Alabama on January 3, 2021, succeeding Doug Jones, for a term ending January 3, 2027.⁠[2]

On January 6, 2021, he was one of six senators who voted to object to the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.⁠[1]

In 2025–2026 he served on the committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; the Special Committee on Aging; Armed Services, where he chaired the Personnel Subcommittee; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Education and the American Family; and Veterans’ Affairs.⁠[2]

In 2023 Tuberville placed a hold on military promotions to protest a Pentagon policy reimbursing travel for service members who must go out of state for an abortion or other reproductive care.⁠[5][1]

On December 5, 2023, he lifted his hold on nominations below the four-star level, after which the Senate approved about 425 military promotions; on December 19 the Senate unanimously confirmed 11 top-ranking officers, including four-star generals.⁠[1][5]

On May 27, 2025, Tuberville announced his candidacy for governor of Alabama in 2026 and launched a campaign website; at Byron’s Smokehouse in Auburn he said: “I will be the future governor of the great state of Alabama.”⁠[6]

His platform included opposing “woke ideology,” growing jobs, improving education and securing the border, and he said he wanted graduates to stay and work in Alabama.⁠[6]

Governor Kay Ivey was term-limited; Tuberville did not seek re-election to the Senate in 2026.⁠[6][2]

In the Republican gubernatorial primary on May 19, 2026, Tuberville won with 85.5% of the vote (422,255 votes), defeating Ken McFeeters (9.6%) and Will Santivasci (5.0%).⁠[2]

McFeeters challenged whether Tuberville met the legal requirement of seven years’ residency in Alabama; Tuberville said he met the requirement, the Alabama Republican Party dismissed the challenge, and the Alabama Supreme Court dismissed the final related claim that summer.⁠[4][7]

After the primary he said: “I’m running against socialism and communism.”⁠[4]

In the gubernatorial election on November 3, 2026, Tuberville again faced Doug Jones. He did not debate Jones during the campaign; his team pointed to his policy outline, “Back to Basics: The Golden Age Playbook.”⁠[7]

The Associated Press called the race for Tuberville shortly before 12:45 a.m. on November 4.⁠[7][8]

In his victory speech in Auburn he said: “Winning is a decision. And tonight, Alabama decided to win.”⁠[8]

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville: Official website: https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]

X: Public account: https://x.com/SenTuberville (opens in a new window).⁠[3]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SenTuberville (opens in a new window).⁠[3]