MAGA Republicans in Congress, Senate launch gubernatorial bids as 2026 midterms approach

As the 2026 midterms approach, a group of "Make America Great Again" Republicans in the House and Senate have launched gubernatorial bids to advance President Donald Trump's agenda at the state level. 

In May, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., announced that he would be running for governor to replace current Gov. Kay Ivey, who is term-limited. On his gubernatorial campaign website, Tuberville said his top issues are bringing more jobs to Alabama, fighting back against woke ideology and deporting illegal migrants. 

"As your Governor, I will work to further reduce taxes, get rid of waste, and make life in Alabama more affordable," he said in a statement on his website. "I’m also committed to working with President Trump to cut red tape and bring more manufacturing jobs back to Alabama."

Earlier this month, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., announced she would be running for governor of Tennessee. She will be facing Rep. John Rose in the GOP primary. Blackburn currently leads Rose in the primary by 52 points in early polling conducted by a conservative think tank called the Beacon Center. 

Blackburn: "America is blessed"

In Blackburn's announcement video posted to X, she had footage of her and President Donald Trump together at a rally and audio of her saying, "Trump is back. America is blessed, and Tennessee [is] better than ever."

When it comes to the state of South Carolina, GOP Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman have both launched gubernatorial bids. They will also face state Attorney General Alan Wilson, Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell in the Republican primary. 

While Trump has not endorsed a specific candidate for South Carolina, Mace has touted Trump's praise of her in her launch video where he called her a fighter. 

Rep. Norman said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show that while he liked being in Congress under Trump, he thinks there is a lot of work to be done in South Carolina. "We got a wave of people coming from all over the country into South Carolina," he said. "We've got to be ready for it. And the things that I will do include fixing the infrastructure there, which is a D rating, put term limits in [and] remove the way we currently pick judges...it's like a lot of places. It's got a lot of different corruption going on that we've got to face."

"I'm excited," he continued. "I really am. We're going to get a DOGE commission going and figure out where our money is. And basically, I'll take what I've learned in business and in politics to make South Carolina even greater."

Biggs on Arizona: "We deserve better"

The Department of Government Efficiency was started under the Trump administration and was headed by Elon Musk with the goal of rooting out corruption and government waste.

At the beginning of 2025, Congressman Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., entered the 2026 gubernatorial race for Arizona. He said he has a goal to make Arizona the "Florida of the West."

"We need a Governor who encourages job growth that helps working Arizonans flourish and get off of government-run healthcare," Biggs wrote on X Wednesday. "Katie Hobbs has driven our state to the bottom 5 in job growth. We deserve better."

Democratic Arizona Gov. Hobbs was elected governor in 2022 and is running for re-election.