Paul Finebaum has decided not to run for the Alabama U.S. Senate seat currently held by Tommy Tuberville.
“I have been deeply moved by so many people in Alabama who have reached out encouraging me to run for the United States Senate,” the ESPN and SEC Network analyst shared with AL.com in an exclusive statement.
“It has been a gratifying and rewarding experience.
“I am also appreciative of my bosses at ESPN for allowing me to explore this opportunity. But it’s time for me to devote my full attention to something everyone in Alabama can agree upon – our love of college football.”
Finebaum, who ascended to sports talk royalty as a columnist at the Birmingham Post-Herald and a Birmingham radio call-in talk show host, recently moved back to Alabama from Charlotte.
He bought a $5.1 million house earlier this year in Mountain Brook, re-establishing his residency in Alabama.
Finebaum did confirm Tuesday his comments to Clay Travis of Outkick in an exclusive September interview that the Charlie Kirk assassination made him rethink his priorities.
In the end, however, a U.S. Senate run just wasn’t for the 70-year-old Finebaum.
Finebaum had said he would decide after the college football season. The qualifying deadline for the primary is Jan. 23.
The GOP primary would’ve drawn national attention with the high-profile Finebaum center stage.
A person close to the situation told AL.com that Finebaum has supporters all the way to the White House and that everybody, including President Donald Trump, at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. was aware of his interest in the U.S. Senate.
The question now becomes what’s next for ESPN’s “Mouth of the South?”
Finebaum has roughly a year-and-a-half left on his ESPN contract, but some believe he ruffled feathers at the Wide World Leader in Sports. He was suspended from on-air ESPN appearances for days after his Outkick interview.
However, an industry insider points to his regular appearances on “Get Up,” “First Take” and “SportsCenter.” In addition, it was specified, he hasn’t missed a day of work since the suspension.
So, it’s believed he is in good standing with ESPN.
On Monday, Finebaum joined CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and was asked by the University of Alabama graduate if he was running for U.S. Senate.
“It’s been difficult to concentrate on anything else lately but Lane Kiffin,” Finebaum said.
Qualifying with the Alabama Republican Party runs from January 5 through January 23. The primary is May 19, 2026.
Candidates who have already announced they are running for the seat left vacant by Tuberville, who is running for governor next year, include Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise, and Jared Hudson, a former Navy Seal who ran for Jefferson County sheriff in 2022 and who was the first Republican to announce he was running for Tuberville’s seat. Morgan Murphy, a former Trump administration official and Tuberville advisor, has also announced as a Republican candidate.
Bruce Pearl, who recently announced his retirement as Auburn’s basketball coach, considered a run for the Senate but decided against it.
Democrats who are running for the Senate seat include Kyle Sweetser, a business owner and lifelong Alabama Republican who spoke at last summer’s Democratic National Convention, Dakarai Larriett, a business owner, Birmingham native, and University of Alabama graduate, and Mark Wheeler of Heflin, a Jacksonville State University graduate and chemist who works for a wire manufacturing company.
Read the original article on al.com.
