Ex-Auburn football coach Tuberville to run for Ala. Senate
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville is joining the Republican race to win back the Senate seat from Democrat Doug Jones in 2020.
Tuberville is set to announce his candidacy Saturday, according to a person familiar with Tuberville’s decision. This person wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss Tuberville’s plans and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Republicans are trying to recapture the seat that was held by Republican Jeff Sessions, who was President Donald Trump’s first attorney general.
Jones, a former U.S. attorney, defeated ex-state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in a special election in 2017 after the Republican candidate was accused of sexual misconduct with teenagers. Moore denied the allegations.
Already in the GOP race is Bradley Byrne, a congressman.
The primary is set for March 3, 2020.
Tuberville kicked around the idea of running for governor of Alabama in 2018, but decided to stay out of politics at that time.
In 21 seasons as a head coach, Tuberville won 159 games with Mississippi, Auburn, Texas Tech and Cincinnati. He stepped down at Cincinnati after the Bearcats went 4-8 in 2016.
