John Wahl on Tuberville for Governor in 2026: 'I think he wins'

Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl believes the U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) is going to run for governor and will probably win the contest easily.

While Tuberville has not officially announced his candidacy yet, Yellowhammer News confirmed this week that his mind is made up and he will run for the position.

Wahl discussed the upcoming election during a Friday appearance of WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”

“I think Tuberville is definitely looking that he wants to come home to Alabama,” Wahl said. “He has his first grandchild. You can’t blame him. D.C. is a is a rat race, and he really does love Alabama. He loves the people of Alabama, and I think that’s what’s driving him with making this decision at the end of the day.”

There has been some speculation that President Donald Trump is interested in part doing the commencement address at the University of Alabama this year because he wants to use the opportunity to endorse Tuberville.

Wahl said he doesn’t think that’s Trump’s main motivation for agreeing to do the speech.

“Interesting timing, isn’t it? No, ironically, I do not think that it does, though,” he said. “So, Donald Trump has always made it a priority to reach out to everyday Americans. We saw this during the campaign. We’ve seen it with his administration, and I think this continues as he wanted to take part in some commencement ceremonies across the country, and from what I understand, he picked the University of Alabama as one that he wanted to highlight, that one that he wanted to go to.”

Wahl also addressed some of the hit pieces that have already come out against a possible Tuberville gubernatorial campaign.

“Of course, he’s going to have hit pieces against him,” he argued. “I have never seen a true, strong conservative who doesn’t have hit pieces. If you don’t, if the media is not attacking you, you’re probably not doing your job right, if you’re a Republican. So I expect that to continue.”

Wahl said that he can’t imagine anyone being able to win against a Tuberville candidacy.

“But I expect if he, if he gets in this race for sure, at the end of the day, I think he wins,” he explained. “I think it’s very hard for anyone to compete with his name ID, with the work he’s done, with his closeness to Donald Trump, and just the way he has fought for conservative values and fought for Alabama, he has a track record. He proved himself.”

“And, you know, this is a day and age where people are are respecting candidates who have put the time in and prove themselves, and who who really have proven that they’re fighters,” he added. “You know, they’re not afraid to send them to the political machine. They’re not afraid to drain the swamp. And I think that’s what Tuberville brings to the table.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee