Copyright AL.com
Winning in sports, especially college football, is a sure way in Alabama to build an essential element to winning in politics – name recognition. AJ McCarron of Mobile, who led the University Alabama to national championships in football in 2011 and 2012, is the latest to try to turn athletic fame into political success, with his announcement last week that he will run for lieutenant governor next year. McCarron’s decision comes as the crossover from sports to politics in Alabama appears to be expanding. It started with former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, who came out of retirement to defeat former Sen. Jeff Sessions and incumbent Democrat Doug Jones for a U.S. Senate seat in his first campaign in 2020. Tuberville decided not to seek a second term in Washington and is now the frontrunner to become Alabama’s next governor. Paul Finebaum, a household name for Alabama sports fans after decades of work as a columnist, radio show host, and regular on the SEC Network and ESPN, is considering a run for Tuberville’s seat and said this week he would make a decision soon. Before Finebaum’s surprise announcement, Bruce Pearl, at the peak of his success as Auburn’s basketball coach, became the subject of speculation about a run for the Senate. Pearl, known for speaking out on politics, especially as an advocate for Israel, retired from coaching but decided not to run. He said he had strongly considered the idea. There has even been speculation Charles Barkley could make a run for governor. While the recent developments have raised anticipation about Alabama’s upcoming election year, they are not part of a sustained trend of sports celebrities turning to politics in Alabama. Thomas Shaw, associate professor of political science and criminal justice at the University of South Alabama, said star athletes, like film and music celebrities, do have a built-in edge. “Despite this name recognition advantage though, the numbers of these individuals that choose to go into politics remains somewhat modest,” Shaw said in an email. “I think we tend to overplay their significance because their candidacy garners far more media attention than standard candidates and thus we perceive their presence/impact to be greater than it may actually be.” Instead, a handful of Alabama athletes and coaches have made the move. Alabama athletes turned lawmakers Fob James played halfback at Auburn from 1952 to 1955 and earned All-American honors his senior season. James was elected governor in 1978 and 1994. Rich Wingo, a linebacker for Bear Bryant’s Alabama teams who was part of a legendary goal-line stand that clinched the 1978 national championship against Penn State, represented a Tuscaloosa district for two terms in the Alabama House, from 2014 to 2022. Oliver Robinson led UAB to the Elite Eight in the NCAA basketball tournament in 1982 and was a first-round NBA draft pick. Robinson represented a Birmingham district in the Alabama House from 1998 until 2016, although his political career ended in scandal when he was sentenced to federal prison for bribery and fraud. Frank “Pig” House of Bessemer played catcher for the Detroit Tigers and other teams during a 10-year major league career that ended in 1961. House was later elected to a Jefferson County district in the Legislature and was instrumental in the establishment of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1967. Tuberville carried plenty of name recognition when he launched his campaign for the Senate in 2019. He had a successful 10-year run as Auburn’s coach, starting in 1999, including an SEC championship and six straight wins over Alabama before Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa. Steve Flowers, an author, former state legislator, and longtime commentator on Alabama politics, said while Tuberville’s name ID was important, there were other factors that in his success with voters. The former Auburn coach put in long days on the campaign trail, carrying his message across the state, and winning over influential groups like the Alabama Farmers Federation. “Tuberville got out and he worked for a full year in a pickup truck,” Flowers said. “I mean, he really did work. He spent a full year staying in people’s homes in north Alabama and campaigning.” “He got out and earned that ALFA endorsement,” Flowers said. Tuberville has dubbed his first statewide campaign in 2020, “The People vs. The Swamp Tour.” A typical stop was on a Sunday afternoon at Priester’s Pecans in Fort Deposit, where he chatted with Alabama fans, who did not hold the football rivalry against him. “Most people know who I am,” Tuberville said that day, about two weeks before the 2020 primary. “They know my name. So what I’m trying to do is just make sure everybody, as many people as can, see me and talk to me so I can explain to them face-to-face why I’m doing this. And it’s really worked well.” Flowers said he has doubts whether Finebaum, or Pearl if he had decided to run, could win over rank-and-file Republican voters like Tuberville has. “Tuberville, he comes across as somebody you went to school with, played high school football, that sort of thing,” Flowers said. “He’s a country boy of Arkansas. He fit in well in rural Alabama and he worked for it.” What about McCarron? Could he be the next one to successfully make the crossover? “Yes, he will have some name ID stemming from his time with Alabama football and his continued involvement as a football analyst/blogger,” Jess Brown, former political science professor at Athens State University and longtime observer of Alabama elections, said in an email. “College football is a very high profile, social phenomenon in Alabama. Much more salient with Alabama populace than state government. Media response to McCarron candidacy already suggests that. “But, the name ID bounce for McCarron will be noticeably less than what Tuberville inherited and brought to his race since Tuberville was a head coach at Auburn for almost a decade. And, head coaches are covered by media and simply more visible than QBs, even celebrated QBs.” Who will MAGA back in 2026? Brown said Tuberville was helped by his ties with Auburn and Katie Britt, who was also elected to the Senate in her first run for office, was helped by her connection to the University of Alabama, where she graduated and her husband Wesley Britt was a standout football player. “An important question is: Will McCarron be able to get the statewide network of UA supporters to join his campaign?” Brown said. “Tuberville was able to get much support from the agribusiness interests associated with Auburn. Britt was certainly helped by the UA network. “And finally, do not forget the Trump factor. Will McCarron by his prior words and actions be acceptable to Trump and MAGA folks? Will Trump gravitate to McCarron because of his association with big-time collegiate football?” Trump has attended several Alabama games and gave the Crimson Tide a shoutout during a visit to Japan this week. Brown said others associated with Alabama football could help McCarron stir up interest in a race that generally does not attract much attention other than with those who follow politics closely. The lieutenant governor has limited authority, except to preside over the state Senate. “Will other stars in the Alabama football universe eventually assist McCarron in this low profile contest for most voters? Saban? Miss Terry?“ Brown said. Lori Owens, a professor of political science at Jacksonville State University, said Tuberville’s transition from sports to politics followed the playbook of Donald Trump. “When Trump ran, he had that celebrity status because anybody of a certain age had been hearing about Donald Trump for decades before he ran for president,” Owens said. “Tuberville, he’s not a celebrity, but he had a well known name being the coach at Auburn. “He was able to take advantage of running as an outsider, similar to what Trump did - ‘I’m an outsider entering into politics that’s going to advocate for you, advocate for the people.’ “And it does seem to have opened up a gate in terms of people entering into politics that you would have never previously thought would do so before.” McCarron became the fifth Republican to enter the lieutenant governor race. Two have statewide election wins under their belts - Secretary of State Wes Allen and Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate. Opelika pastor Dean Odle, who ran for governor in 2022, and commercial real estate developer Nicole Wadsworth are running for the office. Allen and Pate, having served in public office and campaigned across the state, have built relationships with the active, grassroots Republicans who are likely to decide the primary, Owens said. “Both of these people have already been going around the state to talk with the grassroots Republicans because it will be the people that would be more interested in the party politics that would be voting in the primary,” Owens said. McCarron does not have those ties, at least not yet. “It’s already hit the headlines that McCarron only recently registered to vote. So there’s going to be some people asking him about that.” “But on the other hand, McCarron may cause some people to come out and vote in the primary who might not have done so before simply because he’s a candidate and he’s an outsider and he is a name they recognize,” Owens said. The primary is May 19, 2026.
