For a dozen years now, Paul Finebaum has weighed in on all things college sports at the SEC Network. Now, he’s indicated that he might shift gears to weigh on totally different matters — as a senator.
The Southern sports pundit is weighing a run for the Senate as a Republican. If he runs, he would campaign to replace Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who is running for governor of Alabama.
Finebaum, who recently relocated from Charlotte, N.C., back to his longtime home in Birmingham, Ala., said he would be running as a Republican and would likely aim to fill the seat now occupied by former Auburn and Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor in Alabama. The radio personality, always tight-lipped about his political leanings, told the outlet he voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election and that ESPN tells employees not to discuss politics.
Finebaum told The Athletic over the summer that even though he’s registered as a Republican and voted for Donald Trump last year, he likes some positions of both political parties and considers himself a moderate. All of that sounds like code words for please don’t fire me, ESPN.
Something must have changed in Finebaum. He recently told Outkick’s Clay Travis that the assassination of Charlie Kirk shook him.
Finebaum admitted that if Trump asked him to run, he would jump at the chance. From The Athletic report:
Finebaum said if Trump asked him to run, he would do so.
“Impossible to tell him no. There’s no way I could. I would tell him yes,” Finebaum said.
The deadline to run is in January, and Finebaum said he’d like to decide in the next “30 to 45 days.”
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Finebaum said that he became interested in a potential Senate run when recently retired Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl declined to run. Pearl had mulled over a political career shortly before retiring last week but ultimately changed his mind.
Even though he is a Tennessee native and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Finebaum says he has an affinity for the people of Alabama.
“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”
Finebaum’s career began in Birmingham, where he worked as a newspaper reporter and columnist. His sports radio program, “The Paul Finebaum Show,” picked up regional syndication throughout the Southeast and eventually gained a national following. ESPN tapped him to become one of the inaugural personalities on the SEC Network when it launched in 2013.
Plenty of questions surround a potential Finebaum Senate run. Would he be a genuine conservative or a moderate squish? Will his personality translate well into the political sphere? Would he try to continue his phenomenally successful radio show?
Of course, the biggest question is: Will he run at all? Watch this space because you know we’ll be covering his campaign if he throws his hat into the ring.
Paul Finebaum is known for stirring the pot in college sports, but now he may be gearing up to stir the Senate. If he runs, it won’t just be Alabama fans paying attention — it’ll be the whole country. And you can bet the corporate media won’t tell you the truth about what’s really going on.
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Don’t wait — politics is about to get as wild as SEC football, and you’ll want the inside scoop.
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