AUBURN, Ala. (WRBL) Former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville is entering the political gridiron. The longtime coach is hoping to topple Alabama Democrat Doug Jones in the United States Senate during next year’s general election on November 3. First, Tuberville must secure the nomination by winning the GOP primary on March 3rd.
The seat was vacated in 2017, by Jeff Sessions when he was tapped to become U.S. Attorney General. Democrat Doug Jones finally beat Republican Roy Moore after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against Moore.
Tuesday, News 3’s Elizabeth White met up with Tommy Tuberville at one of his favorite places to eat in Auburn, Byron’s Smokehouse. The restaurant is a place Tuberville began visiting early in his career, some twenty years ago, at Auburn University. He’s a regular fixture for breakfast or lunch, easily mingling with the crowd. He likes to speak with the folks who eat there. Nearly two decades ago they spoke about football, now the talk has transitioned into politics.
“I like coming here because you get to meet all kind of people. You get to hear what’s going on in the community. When I was a coach, you can get locked in that office watching film, and on the practice field, you lose a sense of reality, you can be brought back to reality here,” explained Tuberville.
Tuberville says he’s always been a leader with a long history of bringing diverse groups of people together to win. He believes the skills he’s honed as a coach, father-figure, and manager of a multi-million dollar program has prepared him for Washington D.C.
“I heard someone say, ‘He’s a football coach, what does he know about how to govern?’ What the heck do you think I’ve been doing? As a football coach, I have been responsible for a 100-million dollar budget. You’ve got 128, 18-19-year-olds, you are basically their parent. You teach them leadership, self-responsibility and you bring them together and try to win. Now I’ve got a bigger team. If I can win this election, which I plan on doing, I plan to be a coach for all Alabama. Everyone in Alabama,” said Tuberville.
Tuberville is a proud President Trump supporter, who he credits for getting the economy back on track. He believes President Trump puts Americans first. A role Tuberville plans to fill as an outspoken advocate for Alabamians if elected to U.S. Senate.
“I’m gonna run for the next 10-months till the primary. They are gonna have a hard time not voting for me. I don’t care if they are democrat or republican. Because I think I speak for a majority of people in this state. I know what they want, and I think a lot of people want to tell Congress let’s get something done,” shared Tuberville.
News 3 also spoke with Tuberville about his concerns for the multi-trillion dollar deficit facing the U.S. economy, his ideas for social security and Medicare insolvency. You can watch the full interview with Tuberville by clicking the video box above.
Tuberville also spoke about his love for our military men and women, his foundation to support them and his father’s heroic service in Normandy.
The former high school teacher and coach also discusses our education system, and his desire to see higher pay and/or incentives for teachers who are successful in the classroom.
Finally, it was fascinating to hear the former football coach talk about his respect for New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Make no mistake, Tommy Tuberville believes her ideas are “ridiculous.” However, he does respect the way she’s fought and commanded attention as a newbie in Congress. Tuberville says if elected, he will be just as loud and boisterous for conservative, Christian values that Alabamians hold dear.
