Updated 06/03/2025 to add context to Section 504 lawsuit
Both Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall have announced their intention to run for new political office in 2026.
With Gov. Kay Ivey’s time in office guaranteed to come to an end due to term limits, Tuberville announced his campaign for governor on May 27. Two days later, Marshall announced his bid to replace Tuberville at his senate seat in 2026.
Tuberville is expected to be a shoo-in for the position, facing little resistance.
Tuberville’s campaign quickly garnered support, and brought in over $2 million on the same day he announced his bid. The majority of the donations came from large contributions, the highest being $175,000 contributed by Chad Witcher of Cullman. A campaign finance report showed that the majority of the contributions for Tuberville’s funding on the first day came from sources within Alabama.
With Tuberville’s announcement, an old argument has resurfaced. How long has Tuberville been a resident of Alabama?
Back in 2020, when Tuberville ran against Jeff Sessions for his senate seat, Sessions referred to Tuberville as a “carpetbagger” because Tuberville was a registered voter in Florida for the 2018 midterm elections.Tuberville and his wife both switched their voter registration to Alabama in 2019.
Despite Sessions’ complaints about Tuberville, the minimum requirements to run for a senate seat are to be a resident for 1 day, a registered voter and be at least 30 years old. So, while it was a political talking point, the validity of Tuberville’s candidacy was never in doubt.
Running for governor is somewhat stricter, however, and Tuberville’s exact date of residency is being questioned by Democrats.
According to Alabama law, governors must be “resident citizens of this state at least seven years…before the date of their election.”
Tuberville has said that the residency question will not be an issue, though the chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, Randy Kelley, said that they intend to bring the issue up in court.
The Auburn home Tuberville currently claims as his residence was originally bought by his wife and son in 2017, which Kelley said “doesn’t cut it” claiming that Tuberville still was living in Florida.
While Tuberville could have chosen to run again in the Senate, Marshall is restricted by term limits, and could not run for another term as the attorney general. Marshall was first appointed to the position of attorney general in 2017 by Gov. Robert Bentley after Luther Strange resigned to serve in the U.S. Senate. Marshall then proceeded to be reelected for two terms, making this his second full term.
Statements from Marshall following his announcement highlighted his intention to focus on border security, immigration and the economy, alongside a focus on working with President Donald Trump.
Marshall was one of several conservative attorney generals that joined lawsuits supporting conservative policies on a national level, including joining a lawsuit against New York’s law removing religious exemptions for school vaccinations. Marshall also was one of 17 attorney generals who signed a lawsuit to overturn Section 504 disability protections, though following public backlash, the various attorney generals released a joint status update with the court, stating that they were specifically targeting the section referring to gender dysphoria. The wording of the lawsuit itself did not make that distinction and portions declare all of section 504 unconstitutional. The parties involved in the lawsuit agreed to put it on hold soon after Trump took office, citing the possibility that he might remove gender dysphoria from Section 504.
The Alabama primaries will take place on May 19, 2026.
Alabama top stories in brief
Alabama’s Public Service Commission president appointed to USDA
- Twinkle Cavanaugh, Alabama’s longtime serving president of the Alabama Public Service Commission, has been appointed to serve as the state director for Rural Development in Alabama by the Trump administration.
- Cavanaugh has served in her current position since 2010, and has typically won elections by a large margin.
- Cavanaugh has long been criticized by some for her perceived positive bias towards Alabama Power, which the PSC is primarily responsible for regulating.
- While she ran unopposed in the 2024 election, over 40,000 Alabamians chose to write-in a different candidate for her race, the largest number of write-ins for any Alabama election that year.
Child labor lawsuit against Hyundai and suppliers proceeds
- Lawyers for the defense had filed a motion requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed because there were no current violations and the acting labor secretary who brought the charges forward lacked the legal standing to do so.
- The request was denied by U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Doyle, who wrote in his opinion that there were no “safeguards implemented by Defendants to ensure that child-labor law violations do not recur.”
- The lawsuit was brought forward after an article published by Reuters documented several instances of child labor being utilized at Hyundai subsidiary, SMART Alabama LLC, which operates a metal stamping plant.
- SMART said that this was due to third party hiring agencies that were in charge of vetting staff.
- Hyundai announced in 2022 its intent to cut ties with SMART, and began divesting its majority interest in the company.
Huntsville grows while other large cities population’s decrease
- According to the newest report from the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, Birmingham, Mobile and Montgomery saw a decrease in population from 2023 to 2024 while Huntsville continued to grow.
- With their annexation of several neighboring areas, Mobile overtook Birmingham as the second largest city in Alabama. Despite this, Mobile still saw a decrease of around 500 residents.
- Huntsville saw an increase in population of over 4,000, an increase that was also seen in its neighboring cities.
- In contrast, Birmingham saw a decline in population of almost 500 people with most of the neighboring cities showing either stagnation or decline, with the largest positive change being Hoover with an increase of just over 400 people.
- The five cities with the largest increase in population were Huntsville, Foley, Madison, Athens and Opelika.
- The current five largest cities are Huntsville, Mobile, Birmingham, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa.
Alabama’s 2025 hurricane season forecasted to be “above-normal”
- With the 2025 hurricane season starting on Sunday, June 1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated in a news release that it “predicts a 30% chance of a near-normal season, a 60% chance of an above-normal season, and a 10% chance of a below-normal season.”
- Senior meteorologist Morgan Barry, who works at the National Weather Service in Mobile, told Alabama Public Radio that NWS is closely watching rough weather expected on the western coast of Africa and in the Gulf.
- She advised anyone that lives near the Gulf to review their emergency supplies for this year and know their escape plan. Hurricane season runs officially from June 1 to Nov. 30.
Our articles you might have missed
- With summer right around the corner, you might be looking for new places to visit with family. Check out our latest article by Josie Jones, which covers Butch Anthony’s Museum of Wonder. Located in Seale, the museum promotes itself as “the world’s first drive through museum.”
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