From our state House studio in Montgomery.

I'm Todd Stacey.

Welcome to Capitol Journal.

It was a big week in Alabama politics.

And leading the news was the announcement we've been anticipating for weeks.

US Senator Tomm Tuberville has made it official.

He is running to become governor of the state of Alabama.

The former Auburn coach announced his decisio during a live Fox News interview from Byron Steakhouse in Auburn earlier this week.

He then sat down with Jonathan Hardison of Fox six WBrC in Birmingham to explain just why he's running.

And so, as I looked at echo, you know, I'm a builder.

You know, I'm I'm a leader.

I've always done that.

I've built things.

When I was coaching, I was a good recruiter and I want to win and we can win here in the state.

We can, we can, we can do things that a lot of people don't think you can do.

We have 5 million people.

We're going to need 5 million people on the same team.

And now Republican and Democrat and independent, rich, poor people, middle class, black, white, red, Protestant.

Catherine making a difference if we want want to make Alabama great.

Because when we all got all good together.

And s I want to bring people together and we'll work very hard at it again.

It's not an ego trip.

It is something that, I think needs to be done.

And we're going to do things a lot different.

We're going to bring a great staff and we're going to hit the ground running.

But again, I'm looking forward to the next year and a half.

It's going to be sad to leave, but at the end of the day, you know, I have to do a lot of praying and talk to my wife and family and President Trump and a lot of people in the Senate.

They said, you need to go do this.

So here I and special thanks to Jonathan Hardison and Fox six for that clip.

Tocqueville also sat down with me for an in-depth interview about why he's running reasons for leaving the Senate, his residency issue, and what policie he wants to promote if elected.

Stay tuned for that interview later in the show.

Of course, Tuberville decision means there is an open U.S. Senate seat on the ballot in 2026.

This week, Attorney General Steve Marshall wasted no time making his own announcement that he will run to fill that seat in the Senate.

Having been elected twice statewide.

Marshall enters the race wit clear advantages as a candidate, but more candidates are expected to enter the race for this coveted seat.

Alex Angle reports from Washington on how Marshall's announcemen and how this race is shaping up.

A new Alabamian will be joining the U.S. Senate in 2027 here at the US Capitol, alongside Senator Katie Britt.

It's the second open Senate seat in the state in the last four years.

I will be the future governor of the great state of Alabama with Tuberville announcemen that he's running for governor.

Alabama's attention now turns to the state's U.S. Senate seat in 2026.

It's expected to be a crowded GOP field.

Attorney General Steve Marshall entered the race Thursday with a campaign video titled Alabama Strong.

We had fought the fights that had to be fought for the people of Alabama.

The video shows Marshall's clos ties to President Donald Trump.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.

Other Republican candidates ar still mulling a potential bid, including forme Secretary of State John Merrill.

There's certainl something that we're considering is something that we've looked at before.

Something that we'll look at again.

Congressman Barry Moore from enterprise says he's honored to be in the conversation and says he's praying over his next steps.

In a statement, he says in part, quote, as we seek his guidance, we're listening to the people of Alabama and considering how we can best continue to serve this great state.

And other potential candidates include former Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Kent Davis, former Congressman Mo Brooks and Carolyn Dobson.

Former Navy Seal Jared Hutson announced Wednesda he's running in the GOP primary.

Associat professor of political science at Jacksonville State University, Doctor Benjamin Gross says fundraising will be key in this race.

A big thing is going to be who can get us the largest war chest, to put together, that campaign, that can go across the state.

Three Democrats have als launched their campaign for U.S. Senate.

But in a deep red state, the GOP primary is expected to be the most contested.

The primary election is May 19th, 2026.

Reporting on Capitol Hill, Alex Engle, Capitol Journal.

Thank you Alex.

And some related news.

Twinkle Cavanaugh, president of the Alabama Public Service Commission, is stepping down from her position to an exit to accept an appointment from the Trump administration as the US Departmen of Agriculture's state director for rural development.

I say related, because Kavanaugh was thought to be a potential candidate for that Senate race or for the lieutenant governor race.

In a statement this week Kavanaugh said she loved serving on the PSC, where she was first elected back in 2010.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said Kavanaugh and her new colleagues will be dedicated to helping farmers and rural America prosper.

Construction on the Birmingham Northern Beltline is moving forward, and Alabama leaders say it's a game changer for both the economy and public safety.

U.S.

Senator Katie Britt joined local officials at the project site this week to highlight new progress and federal support.

The first ten mile segment is expected to open in 2026.

It will connect Pinson to Gardendale.

When complete, the 52 mile quarter corridor will form a northern loop around Birmingham.

Senator Britt and Fulton Dales Fire Chief say the impact will go far beyond just traffic relief.

This is exactly the kind of work I came and ask, came and ask you all to let me do.

And Washington, D.C. it's also how I believe the federal transportation and infrastructure dollars should be spent strategically and in a way that drives growth for local communities.

The Birmingham Northern Beltline is a crucial projec not just for local communities, but for our state and for the entire region.

It will hel tens of thousands of Alabamians commute to work and school more efficiently every day.

This project represents mor than just concrete and asphalt.

It's a bold investment in our future.

It's going to boost our economy, create jobs, and strengthen our infrastructure.

But I tell you, speaking it as a first responder and as fire chief.

What excites m most about the Northern Beltline is just what it will do for not what it will do just for our economy, but what it will do for public safety.

It'll save lives.

Speaking of Senator Britt she recently had the opportunity to question the Secretary of Labor about the Labor Department's budget request in an appropriations Committee meeting.

Britt brought up the issue of childcare and how it impacts the workforce.

It's an issue we hear a lot about here in the state legislature.

Britt has legislation intended to help make childcar more available and affordable, and thus removing what is for many, a barrier from entering the workforce.

Whether I am at the top of the state or the bottom of the state, or whether I'm out at my largest manufacturer or, you know, a small business o Main Street, they say, you know, workforce is an issue and they continue.

We either lose people because of reliabilit or affordability of childcare, and or it is more challenging to recruit.

When we started digging and on this, we sa that about 59% of stay at home and or non non-workin or part time working parents say they want to reengage in the workforce, but that affordability or accessibility of childcare is an impediment to that.

Now look, if you want and have the opportunity to stay home, I absolutely want that for you.

But if you want to reengage in the workforce and help with President Trump' vision of building back America, then I want to make sure that we remove those impediments.

Some news this week on the Alabama School of Health Car Sciences planned for Demopolis.

The Entities Foundation has selected Birmingham's Brasfield and Gorrie as the general contractor for the project, and approved a $62 million agreement for construction of the first phase of the campus.

That will include an academic building.

Residential hall, dining facilities, an auditorium, and a recreational building.

The campus will be adjacent to the school's health care partner, Whitfield Hospital Foundation board President Kirk Stephens said Brasfield and Gorrie has an impeccable reputation for delivering high quality work on time.

The school is slated to open in the fall of 2027.

While the dust is still settling on the 2025 legislative session.

As laws enacted start to take effect.

Bills aimed to fight crim were among the highest priority for legislators, and now state agencies are charged with implementing those laws.

Capitol generals Randy Scott takes a look at how the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles is going about implementing the measures affecting their role in law enforcement.

Changes are coming to Alabama's pardons and paroles system, mainly due to rules passed during the recent regular session.

Lawmakers were very involved with these proposals.

We shouldn't be creating guideline to increase our conformance rate to make sure our denials look legitimate.

We should actually create guidelines that effectively asses the person that's before them.

So this is about public safety.

We're releasing those that should be out and keeping those in.

That should me are guidelines ought to b something that that we consider.

If we get to a point where we decide that, something other than the guidelines, I think there ought to be an explanation, given we're no following our guidelines because and they can be legitimate reasons.

Former legislator, now director of the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, Kim Ward, says this fits into discussion about fighting crime in Alabama.

This is a hot topic because when you have a correctional system that's severely overcrowded, obviously pardon parole comes into play because we're kind of the back end.

How does that board deal with who's in and who's out of prison?

So that is a very hot topic.

It has been for the last few years in the legislature, reall ramped up big time this session.

Fighting crime is a top priority for lawmakers in Alabama.

But they're looking at this priorit from different points of view, not just to fighting crime on the street level, but they're also looking at it from how to prevent people from becoming incarcerated over and over again.

Director Ward says it takes a multi-angle approach to help address this problem.

We have a bil that says we're going to start, monitoring certain juveniles who are out on parole.

One of the biggest data points I've seen is crime is down in every category in the state except one area, and that's juvenil gang related violence with guns and Effort, which uses different branches of law enforcement for electronic monitoring.

We've seen multiple times where these crimes occur one, two, three in the morning and it's usually someone who's already been arrested.

They've been put out on bond.

So we're going to that bill they passed allows us to start electronically monitoring and providing that information to the sheriffs, local police departments.

Ward says another strategy is helping former inmates find work when released.

We're training all these jobs, but many times we had these boards and commissions in Alabama that create arbitrary rule that bar you from getting a job just because you went to prison for any reason.

We broke dow some of those barriers and said, let the employers decide who gets a job, not an arbitrary unelected board in state government.

In Montgomery, Randy Scott, Capitol Journal.

Thank you.

Randy.

There is a growing network nationally of safe haven baby boxes, the depositories that give parents in crisis a safe, anonymous way to surrender a newborn.

A new one was just installed this week at a Montgomery fire station, the 17th of its kind in the state of Alabama.

Capital Journal's Jeff Sanders has that story.

The state's network of safe haven baby boxes continues to grow, with Montgomery no home to Alabama's 17th location.

Fire statio number ten on South Court Street is the newest site to offer parents in crisis a safe, anonymous way to surrender a newborn without fear of judgment or legal consequences.

It offers a way forward when someone is overwhelmed or just doesn't know what to do, and it protects the life of a newborn who deserves love, care, and a future.

We recognize these moments when a mother considers surrendering her child are often compounded by fear and silence.

Montgomery Fire Rescue worked with the nationa nonprofit Safe Haven Baby Boxes to bring the program to the city.

First responders at the statio are trained to respond quickly and with compassion whenever a surrender occurs.

Our mission to protect lives in this baby box help us to extend that protection to vulnerable infants and their parents.

It provide a crucial lifeline for those who might otherwise feel that they have no other opportunity, no option.

Safe Haven baby boxe operate in more than 20 states.

Since the program began, nearl 60 babies have been surrendered safely in boxes nationwide, and the Safe Haven hotline has helped coordinate over 150 handoff adoptions.

This community now has a box that is open and is open to the community here.

It is open to community elsewhere.

Anybody who could cross state lines can use this box.

This box remains to have and say no shame, no blame and no names.

Officials say the surrender process is secure and completely anonymous.

Once a baby is placed in the box, emergency responders are alerted and arrive within minutes.

But these are things that we think can truly, truly make a difference in the lives of someone we don't know if it's today or tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or even next year, but we know at some point it will make a difference for a young life.

City leaders hope more communities will follo Montgomery's example, creating safe options, sparking awareness and ultimately saving lives.

Reporting in Montgomery.

I'm Jeff Sanders for Capital Journal.

Thank you Jeff.

When we come back, my interview with Tommy Tuberville.

Stay with us.

You can watch past episodes of Capital Journal online anytime at Alabama Public Television's website.

App tv.org.

Click on the online video tab on the main page.

You can also connect with Capital Journal and link to past episodes on Capital Journal's Facebook page.

From its establishment in 1969 by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as the Swampers.

Until the mid 1980s, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Colbert County was one of the most sought after recording studios in the nation.

Muscl Shoals played a prominent role in American popular music, both as a production facility and as a stylistic embodiment of southern regional music.

The studio also held a unique place in the narrative of soul music in the early 1970s, from the Rolling Stones to Aretha Franklin.

Performers who recorded at the studio represent some of the most notable and popular recording artists of the time.

The remarkable consistency of the music created by the Swampers is a testament to the synergy of the players and their dedication to the art of recording.

The studio's legacy, which is internationally recognized, testifies to music's ability to bring people together.

Muscle Shoal Sound Studio was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 2nd, 2006.

Welcome back to Capitol Journal.

As we reported earlier, U.S.

Senator Tommy Tuberville ha jumped into the governor's race.

He's running to be governor of Alabama in 2026.

And joining me next is Senator Tuberville via zoom.

Senator Koch, thanks for coming on the show.

Thank you.

Doug.

Glad to be here.

And, just call me coach.

Remember that?

Of course, of course.

Well, look, you have made it official.

There's been a lot of speculation for the last couple of weeks.

Couple of month as to whether or not you would, throw your hat in the ring and run for governor.

You've made it official.

You are running.

So let me just ask you the most basic question.

And that is, why do you want to be governor of Alabama?

Well, it' kind of like being a head coach.

You know, a dozen years or so ago when I got out of coaching, that was one of the things that I thought about really doing.

And then when, Governor Ivey went in.

See, you know, I might, you know, look into the U.S. Senate race because at that time, we had a, Democrat in there, and that's a no no for our state.

And, so, I jumped into it.

And I tell you, I've learned a lot.

I've read more, Todd, and in the last six years than I have in a lifetime.

And because in, in, in this business, it's not about offense, defense and kicking game.

It's about education, health care, pensions, labors military.

I mean, there's so many things you have to keep up with.

And, I've learned a lot.

Met a lot of great peopl in DC, got a lot of connections.

And I think that's going to help me being governor, because I know everybody all the way down from President Trump to good friends of Rubio and JD Vance.

People in the Senate.

It is it has been a whirlwind of, of relationships.

But as I looked at it, as I told President Trump, he's given more power back to the states and by doing that, it's going to give me a better opportunity to come in, put together, a coaching staff that I call it, and put a game plan together.

We have got to grow the state of Alabama.

Look at Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida.

Everybody around us, they have they're dropping taxes and they're growing.

And President Trump told me this.

He says, we're going t we're going to grow the country.

You got to grow your state.

And that's exactly what we're going to do.

What am I?

I'm a recruiter.

Number one.

And we're going to go out and recruit every day.

I'm trying to get manufacturing in.

And as a, as I've told people, there's not a week goes by, I don't have people come coming office from all over the world.

We want to move manufacturing to Alabama.

How can that how can you help us make that happen?

We're going to do it as a as you did as senator, but we're also going to do it much, much more when we come governor.

Yeah.

I wanted to ask you about tha because in your, launch video, you talked about bringing Trump influence to Alabama, basically the influence Trump has had in Washington.

First term and then second term.

And bringing some of that t Alabama into the capital city.

What struck me about that is, you know, Alabama is a very pro-Trump state maybe the most pro-Trump state.

So what did you mean by that in terms of bringing Trump influence to a state that is already pretty pro-Trump to the capital city?

You hit the nail on the head.

People in the state are pro Trump.

The bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy in Alabama is not okay.

Montgomery is not quite pro-Trump.

I mean, people say that they're with President Trump, but saying things and doing things are different.

We've got to understand that our government is getting too big.

It's not near, obviously, as big as the federal government, but we can cut back.

We can consolidate.

I've talked to governor after Governor that is now in the Senate.

I spent a lot of time with him that have been in a governor position in their state, and that's the one thing they tell me says, you've got to make sure you understand when you go in ther that you can't stay status quo.

That's probably a bad word.

One of the worst words in the world.

Status quo staying the same.

Todd, we're not going to stay the same.

We're going to change Alabama.

We're going to change it for the better.

We're going to save taxpayers money.

We're going to grow the state.

And by growing the state means that you can help the, people of Alabama by lowering taxes.

And we have got to be incentivized all over the state of bringing new people in new workers, but also bringing manufacturing.

We got to work on infrastructure.

There's a lot of things.

President Trump is overwhelmed, I'll tell you that.

But there's one guy that can handle it.

I've learned a lot from President Trump, and I'm looking forward to coming in with a lot of the same policies now.

I'm not a follower.

I'm a leader.

And, I understand you can't.

Everything doesn't work, in the same positions as in other places, but, I know I've been in this state for 25 years now.

I've traveled throughout, whether I'm recruiting on footbal or whether I've been campaigning or selling.

Being a United States Senator.

I understand the weaknesses and the strengths.

And if you don't know that, then you're not going to be able to correct the thing that you need to correct.

Right.

I was curious about that because, you know, being governor is very different than being a United States senator.

You know, state versus federal issues is just a completely different world.

So I'm curious You've got a long runway here.

Who knows what the primaries is going to look like in terms of competition, the general election.

But, you know, as long way until January 2027, if you would become governor, then.

So you've got a long time to kind of prepare.

What is your plan to do that?

How what is your plan to stud up, if you will, on those state issues and things that the governor does in order to prepare for, as you say, to be the CEO, to lead the state as governor.

Yeah.

Good question.

When I was an assistant coach coming up in the ranks in college, I always would talk to people that had been in position that I want to get to.

As I said earlier, other governors from states all over the countr that have been very successful.

The thing that we'll do for the next 18 months now, most of the things that we're going to do is going to be working with President Trump, because we have got to get, get physical sobriety back into our country.

We are way over spending.

We got to lower taxes.

We got to do a lot of the things that we're going to do when we come back to Alabama as as you said, CEO of the state.

But we'll have a game plan.

Number one, you you start looking at people that you think can really come in and help, whether it's economically, militarily, educationally that can be around you, that can give you different idea that can make the state better.

We'll do that.

We'll put start putting together, a four year plan of when we come into office.

It it's a there's a lot of work before you get there, and you don't want to get there and just open your eyes, look around.

Go.

Okay, now, what do we do?

That's not going to happen, I understand.

Being in a position of, I don't like to say power because I'm that's that's not me, but, a position of authority.

And the buck stops with the governo because you're the head coach.

And if you're not winning, the head coach should get the blame.

Now, I'm all for spreading around.

I'm a CEO, okay?

I'm not going to go in there and micromanage everything in a state.

I'm going to give out authority to people that can do certain things, but we're going to drop regulations.

We're going to give people better opportunities to build, to grow.

We're going to stop crime, and we're going to have some sit down with some people in the state about making sure that we put our finger on why we're having more crime in our state than some other states are.

I've been really on top of the FBI all over the state cash, bu telling our friends about, hey, while you're working around let's get Alabama's FBI agency up and running and 100% behind the people of Alabama.

And we've done that.

And we're going to continue to do that.

So there's a lot of things you have to do.

I'm excited about it.

You know, it's again, it's like putting together a, football team and trying to win a national championship.

What?

Better than a than a coach?

That's that's, worked very hard over his life of putting things together.

It's it's going to be fun to do, but we're it's going to take all of us 5 million people and growing from the state of Alabama, not Republican, not Democrat, but people from Alabama that want a better life.

I was curious, though.

You know, you are leaving the U.S. Senate, and a lot of people consider that to be, you know, the coup to grow out one of the best political jobs in the country.

You you don't see people giving up Senate seats, very often.

So I was wondering, was there anything, about the U.S. Senate, about your service there that just didn't jive with you, that just you found through the last four years that.

Well this really isn't my cup of tea.

I want to move on.

Was there anything in particular, that made you decide you didn't want to be in the Senate anymore?

I'll tell you The first four years were tough.

We saw the corrupt Biden administration absolutel try to tear our country apart.

Open borders, more crime, jus spend money that we didn't have.

Just, just an example.

The Energy Department, has a budget around $50 billion a year for the last 76 days afte President Trump won the election from to inauguration, they flushed out $94 billion just giveaways to loans to companies that some of them don't even exist.

What they do they stole is blind.

And American people should be outraged.

It was a debacle.

The first four years we played defense, we tried as best we could as Republicans.

Now the ball is in our court.

Now President Trump has got a, he's he he inherited an O and 14 team when it come to winning in the last four years we hadn't won anything.

And so he's trying t get us back on a winning track.

And by doing that it's going to help our state.

We'll be helping Alabama.

But I've been I've enjoyed it.

But you're a team player.

As a United States senator, you don't oversee anything.

You're a team player.

You work with other people and I am a team player.

When?

When I'm governor, I'm the head head coach, so to speak.

Now, I'm not.

Ego is not my terminology.

I want everybody to win.

And to do that, you got to give out.

As I said earlier, you got to give out, authority to the people, let them do their jobs.

And if they can't do it, they won't be there.

I mean, the same thing you do in coaching, right?

Let's talk about residency an that issue that keeps coming up.

We've done some reporting on this, Mary Cell and Alex Angle did some really good reporting on your homestead tax exemption.

Right.

That's the tax exemption you take on your primary residence.

You can only have one.

And yours was there in Auburn going back to 2018.

That seems to satisfy that seven year requirement under the Constitution, to be a governor.

But the issue won't go away.

Your critics are going to bring it up.

In fact, Democrats have said they will challenge this in court to challenge your access to the ballot.

And my question is, would you welcome that?

Would you say, let's go ahead and adjudicate this?

Let's take it to court, have it dealt with.

So it's, over and done with once and for all.

Well, it's their prerogative.

It makes me no difference.

And, you know, I've lived most but most of the last 25 years in the state of Alabama, on and off.

And everybody knows, heck, I went out and took a jo at Texas Tech for three years, Cincinnati for four years.

My wife bought a house in Florida.

What, 2000?

We've had that thing 25, 20, 26 years.

We go down there some not very much.

I spend most of my time in DC or or in Alabama working you know, the job I've got here.

But, you know, it's amazing to me.

You know what I do?

In 2019, I started campaigning for this job.

And this time next year, that'll be over seven years right there.

So I'm not concerned about it.

You know, the you have some of these entities in the state, our state.

They're Democrat.

What what what what would you call them?

Stronghold that just want to do everything possible to keep me from running?

Well, they did that, and there was a lot of people that went after me saying, you know, different things.

And most of that was saying.

But we got to keep him from running, because if you run, he's going to win and he's going to he's going to be the most conservative governor we've had in a long time.

We can't allow that to happen.

Well, it's happened.

They didn't keep me from getting in the race.

We're going to win this race.

We're going to work hard.

I'll I'll raise more money, Todd, in the first 24 hours than I raised in two years in United States Senate, I want you to think about that.

And it didn't come from lobbyists.

It didn't come fro the big entities in the state.

It came from individuals and people want change and they want something different, and they're going to get it.

And so, Democrats are not going to be able to stop me from from, campaigning, not going to stop me from, from, being eligible for this job.

I'm not again people going to call me coach.

And, we're going we're goin to get this grant thing running.

But again, we got a lot of work to do before then.

Let let them do whatever, because they're wasting their time and their money.

I wanted to ask you about the issue of gambling.

And I'm sure you've already been asked after just a few few days on the campaign trail, because when you run for governor or really anything in Alabama, it's a big issue.

And we have this interesting situation in the state because you've got, several old dog trac casinos around that are kind of in legal jeopardy are they're seeking legal protection.

You've got the porch Bandit Creek Indians with their federally protected land.

You've got, a lottery where they're surrounded by states with a lottery, and sports betting.

So every couple of years, the legislature proposes some kind of grand plan to consolidate all these things and tax it and whatnot.

And I understanding that's a complicated issue.

But what is your general perspective on gambling on a lottery, understanding that if you become governor, that's going to be right up there in terms of what people are asking you about and, and, and issues that could come to your desk.

Yeah.

And that's a good point.

And, you know, when I was running for, U.S. Senate, nobody I really didn't get that question very often because it wasn' it wasn't my, decision to make, other than I get one vote in the state whether I'm for or against it.

You know, I grew up in the in a in a business of coaching where I didn't wanted nothing to do with marijuana.

Now, I know that marijuana is is probably helps a lot of people medically.

And it's been passed on to the state.

I'm good with that.

But again, the governor shouldn' have anything to say with that.

Same thing with gambling.

You know, I'm one vote, okay?

The people vote that if I don' have anything to do with that.

And again the legislature has got to make their mind up of the direction they want to go and what they want to do.

I would sit down after it's voted on and terms in the Senate.

In the House, and then I'd have an option, to veto it or not veto it.

But again, we're here for the people and then it have to go for a vote, referendum and so there's a lot of steps to that.

I'm not a gambler.

Okay.

You know, I, I gambled every Saturday for 35 years on the job that I had and trying to wi and trying to keep from losing.

So, again, that that'll be up for debate with the legislature and see what they can do.

Same thing with the marijuana.

Situation.

But I will tell you this, you know, there's a lot of competition out there.

Everybody's fighting for that tax dollar.

But the main thing that we hav to do is don't worry about the, you know, the the marijuana or the gambling or things people some people are against.

We have to get manufacturing and people job and better jobs in their state that will make us a better state.

Overall is getting people better jobs, having families and educating kids, which I thin we can do a much better job at.

That'll be some of my priorities.

Well, with your departure from the Senate, it opens up a big Senate sea for this same election in 2026.

We've already had, the attorney general, Steve Marshall.

Hop in the race.

He's announced he's running.

I'm sure we're going to see a lot more names, for that open Senate seats, a coveted position.

What's your advice for some of them running?

You ran before, back in 2020?

It was a pretty competitive primary.

What will be your advice for the candidates, seeking that office?

Well, just understand what you're getting into.

And I think you you really don't understand to get there, because, again, you're you're you're a team player.

You don't build anything.

You don't put anything together.

You just help on other thing and try to work for your state from behind the scenes, with your, fellow senator, Katie Britt.

There's a lot of good people going to run for president.

Trump asked me what I thought, and I told him, I'm not going to get involved, but I will vote for somebody.

I get one vote in this state, and I will vote for somebody that's going to support President Trump.

That's what I'll tell you right now.

I don't know who's going to run.

There probably be a half a dozen people at the end of the day.

And I'm I'm proud for that.

Thank you.

It's good.

We have have a lot of competition, and people get out there, but I'm going to do what everybody else is going to do.

I'm going to listen to what they say.

And then once they get in, I'm going to hold them.

What they've said, are they going to stand up for conservative values and that's what we need in this state.

All right.

Well, Senator, thanks so much for your time.

Good luck on the campaign trail.

And thanks again for coming on Capital Journal.

I thank you very much.

We'll be right back.

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Welcome back to Capitol Journal.

Joining me next is Alabama's leading political columnist, Steve Flowers.

Steve, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

Good to be with you.

Welcome back.

I should say we get a lot of good feedback from viewers whenever you're o for your political commentary.

And man, it is political season.

We are right.

In the heat of all these announcements and everything.

Just spoke with Senator Tuberville.

Coach insists on being called running for governor.

I wanted to get your takeaways from that.

This big announcement.

Everybody's been waiting on it, but now it's official.

You know, those of us who follow Alabama politics have been anticipating this year for 5 or 6 years, you know, and we we assume they're going to be a great governors race, with Kay not being run again.

And after a decade as a governor and we'd all circle this year as being a great old timey political year.

Open seat.

Yeah.

Overseen all over Todd.

Not just governor, but, lieutenant governor, attorney general.

All those offices open because everybody's term limited.

But this thing with Tom will just.

He started telling folks in December he was looking at it and I would ask people out there who were close to him over the time.

I say, is he they say all alon he's he's running for governor.

And so people didn't believe what he he showed them and he came out.

Well, he have you seen his a and he's got a good eye and is he got a he was ready to go.

And I think he's clear the field.

It's hard to say that a year out because we were a year away from the Republican primary which is tantamount to election.

Alabama.

I was going to ask you that.

Does he clear the field?

Because obviously, Lieutenant Governor Ainsworth already got out like a week in advance, basically.

You may have some candidates here in their run, but you think anybody serious with real money, rea constituency would challenge to.

I do not.

I think he's got to got a cakewalk.

I don't anticipate anybody serious.

I think he will get token opposition.

Somebody who's most run for governor get their name known in, That was where it used to be done.

Old days when you hit their seniors.

If he would run for want to run for the next four years.

But, nowadays, with medium being what it is, you know, folks run to get elected.

They don't run to get acquainted at all for a former opponent.

I think he he gets a free ride, not a free ride.

He didn't work hard, I think.

But I think th the vacuum will be in the Senate race where he left.

I think that's where everybody gravitate to.

I said over the course of the last 3 or 4 years, and I will speak to Civic Club around the state, the Alabamians love the governor's race.

And they would ask me repeatedly, Rotary Club and anywhere in around the state where I speak.

The first question they'd ask to fly was, who' running for governor in 20 2026?

And of course, I'd say the obvious ones.

Will Ainsworth's been running for six years, and he'll be in the race, and Steve Marshall's got to go somewhere else and Rick, Pete may have to run for governor because he didn't get anywhere else to go.

And so, you know, I, I but I've always said this and I said, I said, let me give you a caveat that though this looks like a year when someone like FRB James could come in, I know an unknown person who's made a G in dollars in business and rather run for governor and play golf.

You know, if that was Forbes scenario, he was 55 years old or 50 probably.

And he beat the three BS in 1978.

So I always look for someone like that.

But I think that person if they're out there and I don't have anybody in mind, I don't know that that's that person exist, but there's a void for that.

But I think that voi has shifted to the Senate race.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I'll get to that in a minute.

I really want to talk about Senate, but it's interesting you say that because like okay, Mike Durant last time around with the Senate race, he came in with a lot of money and everything, but and almost, almost pulled it off.

But yeah, I don't see anybody.

What Ainsworth backing out was an indication that, I mean, he had the best chance of anybody.

And so for him to make that decision, I think says a lot.

And it's interesting too, because you just don't see a lot of senators turn around and run for governor.

The last time we had somebody from Congres become governor was Bob Riley.

Full disclosure, I used to work for him, but and that's an interesting comparison because, you know, he was an outsider, as Tuberville will be if he becomes governor, kind of kept his own counsel.

It wasn't really in the Montgomery crowd.

I see a lot of sort of similarities there.

Well, you know, you hit on a good point and I go back to what I said.

I preface what I said a while ago is Alabama somehow dwell on the governor's race?

And I said this in a column and I said it to coach, told him self.

I said, coach, most people don't lead the US to be governor.

That's like going backwards in most, most states.

The governor's a stepping stone to the US Senate.

Six year term.

You're one of 100 in America.

You control the federal purse strings.

And, you know, the governo has limited power in amount of.

But but I think he thought it through.

And, I think that that was that was a surprise, because when I would say in recent months, I'd say I think Coach Tovey was looking at the governor's race.

And the first question, they say I like him.

Well, we should stay where he is.

Well you probably heard the same thing didn't you.

Oh sure.

I mean there's this everybody knows his name.

Universal name recognition.

He's got a powerful fundraiser right.

That 2 million out the gates.

I still have those federal limits.

So he kind of had t he had the choice up to his own.

And I thought our conversation was interesting because I asked him, you know, about that?

He he kind of seemed to think that, well, his what he sai was that he originally thought about running for governo before ever running for Senate.

So this was sort of his original desire was and I think that that matters and, well, why not do what you actually want to do?

Plus being a CEO rather than a member of a, you know, caucus in a Senate body.

Well, I mentioned Ainsworth.

What what about his political future?

Because he's not it's not goin to be on the ballot this time.

But he has spent considerable time in office and in raising his profile, things like that.

Do you think he'll come back one day, ru for governor or something else?

I don't know, I like Will and I don't know what his plans or, he's worked so hard to be a run for governor.

He had laid the groundwork.

Really?

You know, for six years.

I think being out of the limelight hurts you.

I think him being out for years.

I do think this.

I think the governor's office will be open again for years now.

You don't think to run for one term?

Yeah.

I thought that we ran for the Senate.

Really?

Well, yeah.

That would that was, stand to reason.

Okay.

Senate, the other big announcement this week, Steve Marshall, Attorney General Steve Marshall, not wasting any time.

I think we saw this coming.

But again, it's important to get out there and go ahead and announce.

Clear the field as much as you can.

What did you make of that?

Can we clear the field?

Do you see it being a more, crowded race?

I don't think that he's cleared field at all.

I think that that race is going to attrac everybody who's got aspirations to be a statewide office holder, especially a U.S. senator, which comes on often, very seldom, available.

There are other players in that race.

You don't underestimat Barry Mower, who's going to run the congressman from the from the new first district.

Which again, leaves that first district congressional seat open.

I spent next year.

Carl, am I going to run it?

That, you know, there's a real tension in between the Wiregrass and, and Mobil.

They still I don't to have a congressman.

And I was surprised more beat him.

But I think Mo was going to run and more as it attracts, that club for growth money.

The right that race is going to boil down like any race.

Todd in my opinion, to money who can raise the money?

And, the PACs in Washingto don't really get to be players until the general election, usually.

So someone with their own money, that's why they call the U.S. Senate a millionaires club.

Someone like an Ainsworth.

In my opinion, that's where I thought Ainsworth would land after he knits after Wilson ran for governor.

And, I think he could have won that race and it would have been a golden opportunity for him.

He's not the 44 years old, bu he could have tapped his family mone and and probably won that race.

Going back to your previous about him and and, Marshall, Wil Ainsworth and Marshall and Rick.

Pete, all three of them are indeed in constitutional offices.

But the polling I saw, and I think we all may have seen the same thing.

I know that you and I know who will Ainsworth is.

Lieutenant governor.

I think you and I know who Stev Marshall is, attorney general.

But the average person, they only registered about 20% name I.D., right.

And that may not be hard.

So you've got a you've got to overcome that.

You really don' have that much of a head start.

I mean, and that takes money to purchase them.

Name recognition.

It does.

And I think someone with their own money could surpass them in a hurry in that race because like you alluded to a while ago, the waste in public raise $2 million is there's no limit on how much some wealthy person can give $1 million in a state, state or federal office.

And the caps, like, I guess 3000 per.

Yeah.

So you got to limit you got to either get the facts or you got to get a bunch of, individual contribution.

So that's why that ratio is open for a rich person.

Interesting.

You talk about Barry more considered Congressman Moore considering running because my take on that was he he might feel a little bit of momentu having won that race down there, having beaten Jerry Carroll, some would say surprisingly.

And he because of the way that district was redrawn over the years, he has represented more of the state than any other congressman in terms of Bay area, you know, so but if he ran, he would be risking yo see, you don't get a free pass when you run for so would that be worth it?

You think?

I don't know I don't know Barry enough to want to ask him that question.

I mean, if I was good, but I say, why would you leave self-congratulatory.

That's what most congressmen don't make that leap right?

Because I really do.

I worked for Bill Dickerson for years when I was young.

Bo and Bill, I'd say to Bill sometime, he's there 28 years in the US Hous from our second district here.

And, as a bill, I want you to run for the Senate.

He says the very know the political graveyard is full of congressme who tried to run for the Senate.

You got, you lose, you lose.

That's what he said.

Every time I said the political graveyard is full of congressme who try to run for the Senate.

And, in Burke's pocket.

That's right.

They got a box pocket in a hurry.

But I think we win that race.

You know, the one that we had mentioned that dropped out this week didn't drop out.

Take another job is a one of the players.

It has really good name and they probably surpasses Ainsworth.

In fact it was Twinkle Cavanaugh.

Right.

I'm gonna point to the USDA.

Twinkle I suspected was going to be either an lieutenant governor's race or I think she had been a player in the Senate race.

I think if you had if she was going to run for the Senate, she could have been a player in that race.

But again, we'll see who can raise the money.

You know, young Caroline Dobso was looking at that Senate race.

I'm not sure she's not, but I think she's going we got a point to the PSC, presidency, come Monday.

Right.

And so she'll take that privilege.

I think she could've been a player by going back.

The point you made about you.

You build some name I.D.

in a new media market, the way Barrymore built some media, some name I.D.

in the mobile market.

Kathleen was running that congressional race, which she had.

She bought ads in Mobil and Montgomery and both markets.

So she got some name I.D., and that evaporates in a hurry, though that name added.

That's why Ainsworth's name's worth was hurt by not having an opponent, or at least some kind of semblance of a campaign four years ago.

Gosh, you got to be You got to be in the public eye.

They forget who you are.

But all those ads, what would be the keys?

1 or 2 things to winning that Senate race.

Let's say it's goin to be competitive, like you say.

I'm thinking back to 2022 when, man, that was a competitive race.

Trump's involvement, obviously everybody kind of wants to claim the Trump mantle, right.

And obviously if he endorsed that would be a very big deal.

But what do you see as the keys to these candidates actually being successful?

Well, I don't think there's no moderate surfacing.

If indeed the people we've named are in the race, they come from the real right wing of the of the Republican Party, more and Marshall do and they they appeal to the same people.

Marshall probably has better name I.D.

than than Moore does because he from North Alabama has got some combination up there.

But he's run statewide, run flat statewide twice.

But, having said that, it goes back to what I said a while ago.

It's all about the money because neither one of them had more than 20% name I.D.. And it's like buying toothpaste.

If you see crest 100 times, you see Colgate forward, he won't buy crest.

You know I hate it.

I make it that simple.

But is that the same is true of politics?

If they see an ad that they say, well, I like that guy, he looks pretty good.

And, you know, he's pretty conservative.

And, I think whoever wins it will be very conservative.

Now, what you sai to I've never seen a president have the coattails in our state like Trump has.

So if someone gets Trump's endorsement and that race is probably lights out now, whether he'll endorse, I don't know.

I don't think he's close to any of them now.

I think I think Trump would have endorsed Ted.

Will Eddie run for reelection?

I think Healey endorsed her well this time, too, because he knows he was going to win, right?

He probably would have endorsed her ability even if he had opponent, serious opponent.

But I think Trump's endorsement is key as golden in the Senate race.

McGovern was at any race for that matter.

So it's starting.

Those are two interesting race, governor.

And well, governor's not exactly interesting, but it's interesting.

The double bill is taking it.

And, the Senate talk about some down ballot races.

Attorney general open seat looking at, Jay Mitchell, associate justice of the Supreme Court, stepped down in a clear sign that he's going to run and also Katherine Roberts who's chief counsel to Marshall, very involved in that office there.

Those are the two I know that are running.

There's a probate judge from what she's a da da.

And, in Blount County looking to run.

What do you see in this race?

Is i going to be pretty competitive?

You think it's 2 or 2?

Taylor again, going back to what I told coach Tom.

Well, I know why he did run for governor Haley.

I understand that and have think he'll do a good job as governor.

But, Jay Mitchell being just like the Supreme Court, I said this in a column I told Jay when he first told me going to run, why would you leave a Supreme Court?

The attorney general of Alabama.

And I think he perceives that he may have a future as governor, possibly.

I think all of them are thinking about Governor, and that's a more visible job.

But and I think he's got some money in the bank, which gives him a little head start.

I think he's got about $680,000 in his campaign account from the Supreme Court, which is transferable to a two attorney general's race.

Catholic can raise the money.

I think both of them would aspire to get that Alpha endorsement.

I think they often thought key and those down ballot races, and it gives momentum to, you know, that Alpha endorsement gave momentum to coach Taylorville and his Senate races.

You and Katie Britt.

Yeah.

When Katie I remember the double endorsement because you had Sessions and Byrne and Tuberville well sessions had been endorsed by Apple before Byrne had bee and they all had relationships and when we went to Tokyo, everyone was like, wow, okay.

And it was a huge boost.

He was now everybody thinks about our bill is just yeah, of course he's popular.

But that was a big deal.

So you're right.

The Alpha endorsement could be really key.

Assuming that they do and it becomes more importan in and those down ballot races.

Right.

Because it gives you even more momentum, on their network of, of members and everything.

Let me ask you about Lieutenant governor.

That's shaping up to be a crowded field.

Two we've already got, West Allen, Secretary of State running for that.

Rick Gates talking about it.

I think he's a maybe official.

But now, who else do you think might run for lieutenant governor?

I think that may be a big players.

Is West Allen and Rick Pate and, and just depends on which one of them can outwork the other.

At the moment I think they're the two players.

I don't see anybody new getting in there.

I'm thinking about in the Senate runs for that, that that Lieutenant governor's race used to attract a lot of state Senate.

It did, you know, always have a couple of senators that.

Okay I want to be governor one day.

Let's run for that promotion.

And so, I mean, I'm not hearing about that.

Plus, the lieutenant governor's job used to be more powerful.

What's true in bygone days Lieutenant Guy was very powerful because get the full committee assignments happen.

But constitutionally, they took that back.

You know, because the ladies, the Senate can control their own committee assignments.

And the pro tem has the power.

Now, as we were reminde in the Jim Folsom documentary, that was really fascinating how seeing a different era and how powerful that lieutenant governor.

And they took it away, I guess in the 90s.

They did.

And it was one win them, one, lieutenant governor.

And the reason was, i the legislature was Democratic.

I went to monitor Republican.

So he he would get to mak the appointments and all that.

But the the jug, everybody remembers.

But yeah, it's fascinating, bu it is a it is a stepping stone.

Right.

It' at least it's supposed to live.

And it would have been fo Ainsworth that it and so yeah.

A really interesting, group shaping up.

Anything else down ballot interest do about some of these statewide constitutional offices?

I think young loser runs again.

He can run again.

And I've never seen anybody in our state be as qualified and do as good a job as young boozer as his treasurer.

He can run another another term.

He served half a John McMillan's term.

Oh that's right okay.

He was legit to a full term.

And you know, he was he was treasurer eight years for that, if you remember.

Right.

And so I've never seen anybody in my political lifetime be as qualified for that job.

You couldn't script someone to be as qualified to be a state treasurer.

He was a banker or whether it was through banking.

Background.

Brilliant financial person.

And he's actually making the state money.

I've never seen a treasurer do that for.

Yeah, he has some programs over there.

So.

So you don't see him.

I mean, it's all about name I.D..

He's got excellent name I.D.. Great political name.

You don't see him running for anything else?

I mean, lieutenant governor or, Secretary of state has pose it to him before.

He doesn't seem to be interested in it.

I think he liked being treasurer and, young like me.

He's not getting any younger.

I call him youngster, but he's not getting any younger.

You know, he young went to Stanford to college, and, you know, realize he's just he's a Stanford and brilliant person, out of touch with his high school and then had an economics degree from Wharton, a master's and doctorate in economics.

Wharton.

But he he's actually young.

This is the third.

He has a son named Young Boozer.

The fourth.

And, if he always kids me, he says, you know, if I if he has a son, he'll be young.

The young blues are the fifth.

There you go.

We'll look.

We're watching all these political announcements come out.

It's a almost a daily occurrence.

So I really appreciate you kind of bringing us up today, offering some analysis.

It's going to be a wild year and it's not even 2026, yo know, and we'll have a lot news in the Senate in the Senate race.

Maybe we can do it again about a month.

We'll know who the real field is at that time.

Of course, there are other people in that race coming out of Washington that work for television.

Morgan Murphy is going to run.

Oh, that's right.

And there's there's a couple others that if sometimes and thi happened with the three figures like Shamar figures came out of Washington, he was able to raise a lot of Washington money, which helped him.

I mentioned that congressional race.

Sometimes those guys go to Washington, maybe a route to watch to the Congress and Senate in the future because I think, oh, politics is becoming more nationalized anyway.

And so they get up ther and they get around the circle.

Although those that federal campaign money and they kind of bring it home for them.

So I mean, you don't know somebody maybe working for television up there in Washington that maybe they will.

I know the lobbyists up here do.

I'm also interested to see, you know, i if Tuberville becomes governor who from his staff comes down, how do they fill out between Washington and Montgomery.

That's a as a former staffer myself, that's always fascinating.

What happens.

Well look Stev we're out of time.

Thanks again.

And, yes, we'll have you back soon.

Thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

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Although her version of the device was never put into production, it closely resembled the windshield wipe found on many early car models.

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