Cornbread, Coach, and Cold Showers: Tuberville’s Wink Shakes Up Alabama’s Lt. Gov Race

Senator Tommy Tuberville and Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate

By Christopher M Peeks October 15, 2025

As the Yellowhammer State moves deeper into October, the days are getting shorter and cool air creeps in. A reprieve from the sweltering summer heat—but though the weather begins to chill, Alabama politics is just heating up.

Like orange leaves falling from the trees, election news is all around us. The most recent buzz is on the Lt. Governor's race. While some view Secretary of State Wes Allen as the favorite after he received backing from ALFA, in reality, that holds as much water as a rusted-out mop bucket full of holes.

This past weekend, Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate, along with his family, had their pictures taken with the next Alabama governor: Senator Tommy Tuberville in a skybox at the Auburn Georgia game. This week, the Ag Commissioner posted on Facebook about him and Coach “rowing in the same direction.” Is this nothing short of a public endorsement from Tubby? If not, it's as close as a wink and a nod.

Those pics had to be a wake-up call for Allen—like a cold shower in January. Startling, jolting, and eye-opening. Allen already faces problems running against Rick Pate. Everybody likes the Commissioner. He is as lovable as buttered cornbread with fried chicken after Sunday go-to-meeting.

Is Coach going to put his immense war chest behind Pate? We will soon see. Allen may still be the favorite, but I bet he is as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Christopher M. Peeks

Reporter and Columnist

Alabama Political Contributor