It would appear that Mr. Finebaum might want to go to Washington.
Paul Finebaum, ESPN host and dean of college football radio, said in an interview with Outkick published Sept. 29 that he is interested in running for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama that will be contested in the 2026 mid-term elections.
“The biggest issue is the direction of ‘Where are we going [as a country]?’ And I don’t like some of that,” Finebaum said.
He added that he would like to make a decision within the next 30 to 45 days.
“I’ve been made aware that the qualifying deadline is in January. That’s ideal. I’d love to get to the end of the season. I don’t know if that’s realistic,” Finebaum said. The deadline to jump into the primary race is Jan. 23, 2026, according to Ballotpedia.
Finebaum would not be the first Alabama college sports figure linked to the seat of former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville. Former Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl said in his retirement announcement that he considered a run for the seat but decided against it.
“Many of you know that I thought and prayed about maybe running for United States Senate,” Pearl said. “That would have required leaving Auburn, and instead, the university has given me an opportunity to stay here and be Auburn’s senator.”
Finebaum told Outkick that Pearl’s announcement that he would not jump into the race opened the door to considering it.
“I ended up talking to someone… who made it clear that there was a desire for me to be involved. And this person… was compelling and compassionate in the approach to me, and I started thinking about this,” he said.
Charlie Kirk’s murder inspired Finebaum’s Senate aspirations
Finebaum pointed to the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 as an inspiration to consider jumping into the political arena.
“It’s hard to describe, not being involved in politics, how that affected me and affected tens of millions of people all over this country. And it was an awakening,” Finebaum said.
Outkick, the conservative sports outlet, reported that Finebaum has been hesitant to discuss his politics due to ESPN policy and not to alienate his audience.
The host of “The Paul Finebaum Show” said that he recently moved back to Alabama, where his career began as a reporter and columnist for the Birmingham Post-Herald, after relocating from North Carolina, and he would run as a Republican. He added that he would run if asked by President Donald Trump.
“Impossible to tell him no. There’s no way I could,” Finebaum said.
