Paul Finebaum says he’s considering leaving ESPN and running for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.
“I ended up talking to someone … who made it clear that there was a desire for me to be involved,” Finebaum told OutKick. “And this person … was compelling and compassionate in the approach to me, and I started thinking about this.”
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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 fill the seat vacated 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 in July that he is a registered Republican in North Carolina but that he has views on both sides of the political aisle and doesn’t feel strongly attached to either side. “I really feel like I’m a fairly middle-of-the-road person,” he said. “‘Moderate’ is not a popular word anymore.”
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.”
Finebaum began his media career as a newspaper reporter and columnist in Birmingham in the 1980s, eventually growing into a radio personality and the namesake of “The Paul Finebaum Show,” which was syndicated across the Southeast. In 2013, he joined ESPN as the face of the SEC Network at launch.
He has been with ESPN since and signed a multiyear contract extension in 2024 to remain with the network.
Finebaum did not immediately respond for comment.
Finebaum said he was initially hesitant to consider the Senate seat because former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who retired last week, had also expressed an interest. In his retirement announcement, however, Pearl said he was not running for the likely vacant seat. Finebaum also said the recent death of Charlie Kirk influenced his desire to become involved in politics.
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“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” said Finebaum, a Tennessee native who graduated from the University of Tennessee. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”
— The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode contributed to this report.
(Photo: Jeffrey Vest / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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