AL-Gov: On Tuesday, CBS Sports reported that Tommy Tuberville, who served as head coach of the Auburn University football team from 1998 to 2008, was considering seeking the GOP nomination next year. Tuberville has now confirmed the report, telling the Montgomery Advertiser that he’s “doing a poll and if I have the support, I'd really consider doing it.” The CBS report said that Tuberville would likely decide in a week or two, though Tuberville himself doesn’t appear to have said that publicly.
As we’ve noted before, Tuberville could have trouble in the GOP primary if he gets in. It’s pretty accepted that in the Yellowhammer State, University of Alabama fans far outnumber fans of Tuberville’s old Auburn Tigers. The rivalry between the Crimson Tide and the Tigers is a very serious matter, and it’s very possible that plenty of Bama supporters won’t back someone so identified with their hated foes. It also doesn’t help that Tuberville defeated Bama six years in a row and enjoyed trolling them every chance he got. And while Tuberville’s reign was mostly a success for Auburn, he resigned in 2008 after a bad season, including a 36-0 loss to Alabama, so not all Auburn fans may want him back either.
There’s also the question of Tuberville’s ties to his old state. Tuberville was born and raised in Arkansas and since he left Auburn, he’s coached at Texas Tech and Cincinnati; Tuberville only resigned as head coach at Cincinnati in December of last year. Alabama law requires the governor to be a state resident for seven years. The Advertiser says that Tuberville still resides at his home near Lake Martin, so he may still legally be allowed to run.
However, while Tuberville may have remained an Alabama resident this whole time, it doesn’t seem to have been by choice. In 2015, realtor.com reported that Tuberville lowered his asking price for his Alabama home four times between 2009 and 2013, before taking it off the market. However, Tuberville tried selling it again in June of 2015. The Tuberville family still has ties to the state, with his son debuting as an Auburn player in late 2015. Still, even if potential primary rivals can’t get Tuberville knocked off the ballot, they could at least question his connections to the state he’s hoping to run, and drive another wedge between the coach and Bama fans who still hold a grudge against him. The state requires candidates to win a majority of the vote in the primary to avoid a runoff, so Tuberville couldn't just rally Auburn fans to a plurality victory.
P.S: This is probably the first time we’ve ever cited realtor.com in a story at Daily Kos Elections. Politics is weird sometimes.