Here we go again, so it appears.
For nearly a century, with a handful of exceptions, when Alabama voters elected someone to the U.S. Senate, the power of incumbency allowed for reelection to multiple terms.
Richard Shelby had six six-year terms. Jeff Sessions won four elections before briefly serving as U.S. Attorney General. Howell Heflin won three terms. John Sparkman won four terms after winning an election to fill John Bankhead's unexpired term. Lister Hill won five U.S. Senate elections after being appointed to fill Hugo Black's unexpired term, who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
There were some notable exceptions scattered throughout, but contested U.S. Senate elections were not common in Alabama before Sessions was appointed to the Trump administration.
Since Sessions' departure in 2017, Alabamians have elected three U.S. Senators: Doug Jones, Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt.
Should reports that Tuberville will forgo reelection to run for governor, Alabamians will get another crack at electing a U.S. Senator.
In no particular order, and for entertainment purposes only, here are some grossly speculated names to watch for that vacancy as the 2026 election cycle gets underway.
- U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise): Moore currently holds the title for the ultimate comeback story in Alabama politics. Moore was indicted during the Hubbard saga in 2014. He was acquitted of those charges later that year. In 2015, he was among the first elected officials to endorse Donald Trump for president. After a failed attempt to unseat then-U.S. Rep. Martha Roby in the 2018 Republican primary, Moore came back two years later and pulled off an upset victory against a well-funded Jeff Coleman. More recently, he survived a slugfest in an incumbent-versus-incumbent match-up against Jerry Carl. At one time or another, Moore represented nearly half the state, from Prattville to Dothan to Mobile in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Former U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile): Although 2024 did not go Carl's way, it was close. While voters in Carl's parts of his former congressional district overwhelmingly supported him, voters in Moore's half of the district supported him slightly more, which was the difference in that 2024 Republican congressional primary. Even though he is not in office, his name identification would still be fresh on the minds of voters, and he is freed up without obligations to take on the slog of a statewide U.S. Senate contest, as Britt and Tuberville had before him.
- Attorney General Steve Marshall: Marshall is easily in the top tier of candidates in this discussion. Should he complete his current term, by virtue of filling Luther Strange's unexpired term in 2017, Marshall will have been the state's longest-serving attorney general. The office of attorney general has been a launching pad in this state, including Strange (U.S. Senate), Bill Pryor (11th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals), Sessions (U.S. Senate and U.S. Attorney General) and Don Siegelman (Lt. Governor and Governor). Marshall has also become acquainted with Washington, D.C. after serving as the chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association.
- Lieutenant Gov. Will Ainsworth: Earlier this year, after Marshall revealed he would not run for governor, Ainsworth solidified his position as the frontrunner for governor in 2026. Tommy Tuberville's reported decision to run for governor has changed that discussion. Should Ainsworth opt not to challenge Tuberville for the Republican nod, he would also be considered a top-tier candidate for U.S. Senate. An Ainsworth candidacy has a lot of upside given his efforts for what might or might not have been a 2026 gubernatorial run. Ainsworth would also be a prime candidate for U.S. Senate given his young age and potential to serve in a body that rewards seniority.
- U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover): Despite committing what appeared to be an unthinkable sin and violating a term-limit pledge, Palmer dominated his 2024 U.S. House Republican primary. If constituents were disillusioned by Palmer's decision to run for reelection in 2024, it did not show on GOP primary day, as he dominated a three-person field by earning 83% of the vote. Even under normal circumstances, such a feat is remarkable in the context of a statewide election. So goes the Birmingham market, so goes Alabama in statewide Republican primaries, and Palmer has electoral strength in that Birmingham market based on his 2024 outcome. Palmer lost his House Republican Policy Committee chairmanship earlier this year, which was one of the justifications for his continued service in Congress. Might that loss open up a door for him to be a U.S. Senator?
- U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia): Since winning Alabama's fifth congressional seat in 2022, Strong has notched a string of victories for North Alabama, including perhaps the return of Space Command Headquarters to Huntsville. When he was first elected to the Madison County Commission in 1996, he was the youngest elected Republican official in Alabama at the time, and he presided as commissioner and as chairman of the commission during a time of rapid technological growth in Madison County. In recent years, North Alabama candidates have struggled in statewide elections, including Mo Brooks and Tommy Battle. However, that trend is due to change.
Honorable mention (may not have aspirations, but not out of the realm of possibilities): Former U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope), House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville), outgoing Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, former U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate.
Jeff Poor is the editor-in-chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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