Sen. Tommy Tuberville wins Republican primary for governor of Alabama

2026 ElectionSen. Tommy Tuberville wins Republican primary for governor of AlabamaThe former football coach was elected to the Senate in 2020 and cruised through his primary, NBC News projects. He’s now favored to become the next governor of the red state.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., at the Capitol on March 3.Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images filShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 19, 2026, 8:56 PM EDT / Updated May 19, 2026, 9:00 PM EDTBy Sahil KapurSen. Tommy Tuberville won the Republican primary for governor of Alabama Tuesday, NBC News projects, making him the clear favorite to win the general election this fall in the ruby-red state.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The winner this fall will replace outgoing Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who is term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election.Alabama has not elected a Democrat for governor since 1998, and President Donald Trump, who endorsed Tuberville, carried the state by 30 points in 2024. Tuberville, a former college football coach, is poised to leave the Senate after finishing a term that he was first elected to in 2020.The Trump endorsement came after Tuberville built a voting record closely aligned with the president’s preferences.“I was proud to endorse ‘Coach’ when he ran for the Senate in 2020, and am honored to do so again. Tommy Tuberville has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of the Great State of Alabama,” Trump said Monday on social media.Tuberville had Trump’s support in 2020 in a Republican Senate primary that included former Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s first attorney general. Sessions infuriated the president by appointing a special counsel to investigate alleged links between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, and Trump fired him from the Cabinet in 2018 and repeatedly spoke out against him in the years that followed.Now, Tuberville’s quest to...