{"id":3632,"date":"2025-09-22T18:11:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=3632"},"modified":"2025-09-22T18:11:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:11:08","slug":"navy-reserve-captain-joins-race-for-tommy-tubervilles-senate-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=3632","title":{"rendered":"Navy Reserve captain joins race for Tommy Tuberville&#8217;s Senate seat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">WASHINGTON \u2013 The race to replace <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/tommy-tuberville-ex-auburn-football-195543179.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tommy Tuberville;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">Tommy Tuberville<\/a> in the U.S. Senate is heating up, as a Trump administration official who helped orchestrate an unprecedented <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/senator-holding-military-appointments-because-091204637.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:blockade on military confirmations;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">blockade on military confirmations<\/a> enters the GOP field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Morgan Murphy, a former Tuberville aide who worked at the White House until last week, will announce his candidacy for Alabama\u2019s open Senate seat at an event the evening of Sept. 22 in Birmingham, Alabama.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve and former food critic who worked at Southern Living and Forbes magazines before he entered the national security space, Murphy is a first-time candidate. He achieved notoriety in Washington for engineering Tuberville\u2019s months-long hold on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/senate-confirms-two-critical-military-183658363.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:military promotions;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">military promotions<\/a> over objections to the Department of Defense\u2019s abortion policy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I feel called to run because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/news\/politics\/donald-trump\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:President Trump;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">President Trump<\/a>&#8216;s America First agenda is the first political movement in my lifetime that made sense to me,&#8221; Murphy told USA TODAY. &#8220;And I want to see his common-sense approach to government last not just another three-and-a-half years while he&#8217;s in office but well beyond.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/tommy-tuberville-ex-auburn-football-195543179.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tommy Tuberville, ex-Auburn football coach, announces 2026 campaign for Alabama governor;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">Tommy Tuberville, ex-Auburn football coach, announces 2026 campaign for Alabama governor<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><\/span><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) arrives for a Senate Armed Services Committee about the Department of the Navy review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 22, 2021. To Tuberville&#8217;s left: then-aide Morgan Murphy.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Tuberville is forgoing a reelection bid to run for governor of Alabama in 2026.\u00a0 The former Auburn University football coach did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>Alabama rated &#8216;safe&#8217; for Republicans <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A handful of Republicans have already declared their candidacy for Tuberville&#8217;s Senate seat, including<a href=\"https:\/\/hudsonforalabama.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:former U.S. Marine Jared Hudson;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> former U.S. Marine Jared Hudson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/stevemarshallforsenate.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:state attorney general Steve Marshall,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">state attorney general Steve Marshall,<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/barrymooreforalabama.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:U.S. Rep. Barry Moore,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">U.S. Rep. Barry Moore,<\/a> another <a href=\"https:\/\/wbhm.org\/2025\/us-rep-barry-moore-an-alabama-republican-launches-bid-for-the-senate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Trump-aligned;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Trump-aligned<\/a> candidate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The winner of the GOP contest in Alabama is likely to win the general election. Alabama is generally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/ratings\/senate-race-ratings\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:considered a \u201csafe&quot; seat;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">considered a \u201csafe&#8221; seat<\/a> for Republicans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Marshall had an early lead among likely Republican voters in a late August survey by The Alabama Poll. He had 37% support to Moore\u2019s 16% and Hudson\u2019s 7%. <a href=\"https:\/\/walkerforalabama.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Businessman Rodney Walker;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Businessman Rodney Walker <\/a>was at 1% in the survey. Forty percent of those polled said they were undecided.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Murphy, 53, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2025\/may\/28\/morgan-murphy-ponders-alabama-senate-bid\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:floated a Senate;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">floated a Senate<\/a> bid <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/05\/28\/morgan-murphy-run-trump-ally-tommy-tuberville-open-senate-seat\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:immediately after;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">immediately after<\/a> Tuberville announced his plans in May. He has a 10-year-old son and lives in Birmingham.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>Elections in the US: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/trump-moving-military-space-hq-161244515.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Trump cites Colorado's mail-in voting in moving military space HQ to Alabama;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">Trump cites Colorado&#8217;s mail-in voting in moving military space HQ to Alabama<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">His prior roles include <a href=\"https:\/\/morganwwmurphyforsenate.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:serving as press secretary;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">serving as press secretary<\/a> to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller at the tail end of Trump\u2019s first administration and working as a military aide to Tuberville. Murphy also served as a senior fellow at the Trump-supporting America First Policy Institute alongside Keith Kellogg, the president\u2019s special envoy to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He also served as Kellogg\u2019s chief of public diplomacy at the White House and State Department from the end of February until last Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Miller told USA TODAY in a phone call that Murphy was assigned to handle his public affairs, but they were of similar ages and quickly bonded, Murphy became one of his most trusted advisers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Senate confirmation hold strategy Murphy worked on in Tuberville&#8217;s office was &#8220;extremely effective and very transformative,&#8221; while other policies he helped develop became a template for how the Trump administration has sought to reduce the size of government, Miller said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Trump announced in early September that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/trump-moving-military-space-hq-161244515.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:plans to move;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">plans to move<\/a> U.S. Space Command to Huntsville, Alabama, giving Murphy an opening to campaign on investments in defense, Miller noted. &#8220;He&#8217;s kind of the guy, he knows the business,&#8221; Miller said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a statement on his candidacy, Murphy emphasized his ties to Trump and Tuberville, whose office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2023\/05\/31\/tubervilles-top-military-adviser-bows-out-00099447\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:he resigned from;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">he resigned from<\/a> over a profile that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/2023\/05\/26\/meet-ex-food-writer-advising-tommy-tuberville-national-security\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:credited him with;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">credited him with<\/a> orchestrating the military hold.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;You better believe President Trump and Coach Tuberville both demand excellence on every\u00a0level,&#8221; Murphy told USA TODAY. &#8220;I\u2019m proud to have worked for both men and will make it my mission to continue their fight in the U.S. Senate for years to come.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kellogg said Murphy did a good job as his spokesman, and described him as &#8220;very, very steady&#8221; and &#8220;very deliberate about what he does.&#8221; He said Murphy has his &#8220;full support&#8221; in the Senate race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The White House did not respond to a request.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Murphy said he&#8217;d spoken to Tuberville and informed the White House of his bid but had not spoken directly to the president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The president likes to back winners, and I want to get out on the campaign trail and prove that I have support before I ask him for his support,&#8221; Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He said he also hopes to earn Tuberville&#8217;s support in the primary but is not entering the race with the expectation of automatically receiving either of his former bosses&#8217; support.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\"><strong>Trump has a complex history with Alabama Senate endorsements<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Trump easily won Alabama with more than 60% of the vote in the last three elections.\u00a0But when it comes to his Senate endorsements, the state has been a source of heartburn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned his Alabama seat in 2017 to join the Trump administration. He was pushed out of the role the following year after coming under assault from Trump over his handling of the department\u2019s Russian collusion investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Alabama&#8217;s attorney general at the time, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2017\/03\/30\/alabamas-newest-senator-faces-learning-curve-first-month-office\/99831890\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Luther Strange;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Luther Strange<\/a>, was appointed to fill the vacancy and had Trump\u2019s backing in a special election to fill the remainder of Sessions\u2019 term. But he lost the GOP primary to Roy Moore, a former chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court whose campaign was dogged by allegations of sexual assault.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Republicans kept their distance from Moore until Trump endorsed him just before the election. The close contest resulted in former U.S. attorney Doug Jones becoming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/onpolitics\/2017\/12\/13\/top-takeaways-doug-jones-shocking-victory-over-roy-moore-alabama\/947476001\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the first Democrat;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">the first Democrat<\/a> to be elected to the Senate from Alabama in 25 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When the seat was back on the ballot in 2020, Trump waited to endorse Tuberville until the retired football coach found himself in a runoff against Sessions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In Alabama\u2019s other Senate seat, Trump endorsed and then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/trump-pulls-senate-endorsement-alabama-142957445.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:yanked his support;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\">yanked his support<\/a> from former Rep. Mo Brooks in the Republican primary. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/06\/10\/trump-endorses-britt-in-alabama-republican-senate-race-00038991\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:He then backed;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">He then backed<\/a> the eventual winner of the 2022 contest \u2013 Sen. Katie Britt, a former aide to the Republican retiring from the seat, Richard Shelby.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>This article has been updated to include new information.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2025\/09\/22\/donald-trump-tommy-tuberville-morgan-murphy-senate-race\/86184963007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Morgan Murphy enters race to replace Tommy Tuberville in US Senate;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Morgan Murphy enters race to replace Tommy Tuberville in US Senate<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ca.news.yahoo.com\/navy-captain-joins-race-tommy-090709152.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON \u2013 The race to replace Tommy Tuberville in the U.S. Senate is heating up, as a Trump administration official who helped orchestrate an unprecedented blockade on military confirmations enters the GOP field. Morgan Murphy, a former Tuberville aide who worked at the White House until last week, will announce his candidacy for Alabama\u2019s open &#8230; <a title=\"Navy Reserve captain joins race for Tommy Tuberville&#8217;s Senate seat\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=3632\" aria-label=\"Read more about Navy Reserve captain joins race for Tommy Tuberville&#8217;s Senate seat\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Navy-Reserve-captain-joins-race-for-Tommy-Tubervilles-Senate-seat.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3632"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3634,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3632\/revisions\/3634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}