GULF SHORES, Ala. – Improving education and preventing fraud in state government are among the top priorities for U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville as he officially begins his 2026 campaign for governor.
The former Auburn football coach was the keynote speaker to open the Alabama Forestry Association’s Public Policy Seminar at the Gulf State Park, a morning speech he gave before flying to Birmingham to officially qualify as a GOP candidate for governor. He told a packed crowd of lawmakers and other public officials that his motivation for running was to come home and help serve his state.
“My oldest has a 10 month old, also got my youngest married off here recently and everything is running good. And my wife looks at me and says, ‘Now you’re going to run for governor?’” Tuberville said to laughter.
“Yes, I am. Because I want to. Because I want to help. I’ve learned a lot in Washington over the last four or five years and there’s a lot of ways we can benefit here in the State of Alabama.”
Tuberville specifically mentioned wanting to continue the state’s progress in improving education. Since 2019, the state has climbed in fourth-grade math and reading rankings, posting the nation’s largest math gains and reaching its highest-ever math ranking in 2024.
Alabama was also the only state to fully recover to pre-pandemic K-12 math performance and one of just two states to do so in reading, according to the Education Recovery Scorecard.
“We’re going to look at all levels of education, starting with K-12. I’d like to start workforce development a lot earlier in the lower grades,” Tuberville said. He referenced the much-ballyhooed “Mississippi Miracle” that saw reading scores in that state defy historical expectations.
“There’s no reason we can’t have a miracle here, too. (Alabama) has made a lot of progress, but we can make a lot more progress.”
Tuberville also commented on the ongoing allegations of fraud from daycare facilities in Minnesota, many involving Somali-American run facilities. He told the crowd “we’re not going to put up with that nonsense” if he’s elected governor.
Speaking to reporters after the speech, Tuberville clarified that there isn’t any reason to believe similar problems exist in Alabama, but said that any time billions of tax dollars are being spent there is bound to be fraud.
“I’m not saying it’s rampant, but there’s some in every state. We’ve got to do our part in the state of making sure we oversee all the money that’s coming in, whether it’s state tax money or federal tax money,” Tuberville said.
“People turn a blind eye to it thinking, ‘Oh, it doesn’t affect me.’ It affects all of us. It’s our money. We need to make sure it is spent the right way and helps the people we need to help.”
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