MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who entered politics after retiring as a college football coach, plans to run for governor of Alabama in 2026, according to people familiar with his plans.

Two people who have spoken with Tuberville about his plans said Thursday they expect him to announce a gubernatorial bid. They spoke on condition of anonymity because were not authorized to talk about a campaign.

Tuberville did not confirm the plans Thursday but told The Associated Press he intends to announce a decision on Tuesday.

“It was a hard decision,” Tuberville said.

Tuberville aligned himself closely with President Donald Trump both in his 2000 Senate campaign and during his Senate term. “God sent us Donald Trump,” Tuberville said during his campaign.

Tuberville harnessed fame from his college coaching days and benefited from a Trump endorsement, casting himself as a political outsider, to win election.

In the 2020 Republican primary, he defeated former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who held the Senate seat for two decades before resigning to become Trump’s attorney general in 2017. Months later, Tuberville d efeated incumbent Doug Jones, who had been the first Alabama Democrat elected to the Senate in decades.

Tuberville is expected to be a formidable entry in the governor’s race. Two-term Republican Gov. Kay Ivey cannot run again because of term limits.

Club for Growth PAC this week endorsed Tuberville in the governor’s race “should he announce his candidacy.”

“Coach Tuberville has been a steadfast leader for commonsense policy reforms in the United States Senate, and would champion fiscal responsibility, school freedom, and tax cuts in Montgomery,” said Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh.

During his time in the Senate, Tuberville has continued to align himself closely with Trump. In 2023, he maintained a monthslong blockade on military promotions over his opposition to a Pentagon policy that provided travel funds and support for troops and their dependents who seek abortions but are based in states where they are now illegal.

A native of Arkansas, Tuberville was the head football coach at Auburn from 1999 to 2008. He retired from coaching in 2016 after leaving the University of Cincinnati. He is sometimes referred to as “Coach” instead of “senator” by those that work with him.

Tuberville faced questions about his residency in the 2020 Senate race, where his political opponents referred to him as a “Florida man” or a “tourist in Alabama” as they questioned if he lived in the state.

The Alabama Constitution requires that governors must have been “resident citizens of this state at least seven years next before the date of their election.” Property tax records show he owns a $270,000 home in Auburn, where he claims a homestead exemption, and a $4 million beach home in Walton County, Florida.

Voting records show that Tuberville and his wife last voted in Florida on Nov. 6, 2018. He switched his voter registration to Alabama in 2019.

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Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.