Morgan Murphy, a former Trump administration official and national security adviser to U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, announced on Monday that he is running for the U.S. Senate.
Murphy, a Birmingham native and Navy Reserve captain, is seeking to replace Tuberville, who is the Republican frontrunner in Alabama’s 2026 governor’s race.
“The greatest honor of my career has been working for President Trump in both his first and second terms,” Murphy said in a statement. “Neither he nor Coach Tuberville were politicians when they first went to Washington, and that’s what we need more of—citizens who could do something else but choose instead to serve.”
Murphy most recently served as chief of public diplomacy for the Special Presidential Envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg. During Trump’s first term, he worked as press secretary for Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller and Deputy Secretary Kash Patel. Earlier in his career, Murphy served as an executive editor at Southern Living and as a food critic for the magazine.
In the Senate, Murphy pledges to protect free speech, promising to “dismantle the censorship machine,” calls for rebuilding the military by expanding the Navy and opposes endless wars.
He supports abolishing the IRS, replacing the federal income tax system with a national sales tax and auditing all federal agencies to cut “wasteful spending.”
Murphy enters a crowded Republican primary that already includes Attorney General Steve Marshall, U.S. Representative Barry Moore and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson. A poll conducted before Murphy entered the race showed Marshall leading with 37 percent of GOP support, Moore at 16 percent and Hudson at 7 percent. Forty percent of voters remain undecided.
Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the race, though all the candidates are stressing their ties to him.
Murphy has close ties to Tuberville, having advised him when he entered the Senate in 2021. He resigned in 2023 after a Washington Post profile suggested he influenced Tuberville’s decision to block hundreds of military promotions in protest of a Pentagon abortion travel policy.
The blockade, which lasted 10 months and stalled 447 nominations, drew national attention. Murphy has maintained that Tuberville made the final decision.
“You better believe President Trump and Coach Tuberville both demand excellence on every level,” said Murphy. “I’m proud to have worked for both men and will make it my mission to continue their fight in the U.S. Senate.”
Murphy highlighted his Alabama roots, saying he returned home two decades ago to raise his son in Birmingham.
“Although I’ve worked and traveled around the world, my heart belongs to the red clay dirt of my home state,” said Murphy.
Murphy has received endorsements from several Trump-era officials, including Christopher Miller, Sean Spicer and K.T. McFarland.
The Republican primary for U.S. Senate is set for May 19, 2026.
