EXCLUSIVE: Longtime Trump Ally Morgan Murphy Strongly Considering Run For Open Tuberville Senate Seat

Morgan Murphy is planning on running for Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s open seat after the lawmaker announced Tuesday that he is running for governor, two sources with direct knowledge of the plans told the Daily Caller.

The former college football coach announced that he will be running for governor of his home state Tuesday, leaving his Senate seat up for grabs in 2026. Contenders are already circling the seat, including White House and State Department senior adviser to Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Morgan Murphy, two sources told the Caller. 

Murphy, a former national security adviser to Tuberville, caught national attention after he architected Tuberville’s stance against taxpayer-funded abortion, one source explained to the Caller. Currently a White House staffer, Murphy also served in the first Trump administration in the Pentagon as the press secretary to former Secretary of Defense Chris Miller. (RELATED: MORGAN MURPHY: How Tommy Tuberville Sacked The Pentagon’s Abortion Scam)

“I say this having worked closely with him when he was one of my principal advisers when I was Acting Secretary of Defense during the first Trump Administration,” Miller told the Caller. “I’ve seen his mettle and calm, deliberate decision making skills under fearsome and unrelenting stress. Alabama and the Nation will be much better off with him in the United States Senate.”

Murphy is a reserve Navy captain and veteran of Afghanistan.

Coach to GOP senate pipeline continues , @ShelbyTalcott & @burgessev scoop https://t.co/cwuafd38tq

— Ben Smith (@semaforben) May 27, 2025

Also rumored to be considering runs are Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Rep. Barry Moore, a source familiar with the race told the Caller.

“I am honored to be in the conversation as Alabamians begin to look at who they want to represent them in the United States Senate,” Moore told the Caller in a statement.

“My family and I are praying and asking the Lord to guide us in this decision. As we seek His guidance, we’re listening to the people of Alabama and considering how we can best continue to serve this great state,” he added.

Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl is also considering a run, one person told Semafor. Pearl is the chairman of the US Israel Education Association and was on Capitol Hill earlier in May, the outlet reported.

The general election for both the Alabama governor’s seat and Tuberville’s Senate seat will take place Nov. 3, 2026.