Tuberville in Orange Beach: Baldwin Growth Plan, CHOOSE Act Support and a Lottery Vote ‘Up to the People’

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — Speaking with reporters in Orange Beach, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee for governor, said Baldwin County’s rapid growth calls for its cities and county leaders to work from a shared plan, and he weighed in on school choice and a possible state lottery. Tuberville spoke with reporters on Wednesday, Oct. 7, before addressing the Gulf United Metro Business Organization, known as GUMBO, at a chairman’s dinner.

Tuberville said he has “made a lot of friends” in Baldwin County going back to his first Senate campaign in 2020, and he described the county as an important economic engine for the state, driven by tourism, business and manufacturing.

Tourism and growth in Baldwin County

Baldwin County ranks as the sixth-fastest-growing metro area in the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released in 2025. That growth has put new pressure on roads, schools, water and sewer systems and public safety across the county’s cities and unincorporated areas.

“I’ve got a lot of good friends down here in business and manufacturing,” Tuberville said. “Tourism down here is just off the charts and it’s going to get even better. With commercial airlines last year, they told me that they brought 200,000 people here to Orange Beach and 85% of those head never been here before, which is what you want. First time people coming in having a good time.”

Tourism is the backbone of the economy in Orange Beach and neighboring Gulf Shores, where beaches, condominiums, marinas and attractions draw millions of visitors each year. Baldwin County’s tourism industry also supports a large share of the jobs and local tax revenue in the area.

‘Start with education, infrastructure and law enforcement’

Tuberville said he met with local mayors last spring and wants to help bring them together on growth and development. Baldwin County is home to more than a dozen incorporated cities and towns, from Bay Minette and Spanish Fort to Fairhope, Foley, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, each with its own council and planning decisions, along with the Baldwin County Commission, which oversees unincorporated areas.

“My job is going to be giving advice, trying to get them together, the county commission together, mayors, the city councils and just put the best plan forward we can get and start with education, infrastructure and law enforcement,” Tuberville said.

Under Alabama’s system of government, cities and counties have limited home rule, and many local changes require action by the Legislature. Infrastructure money, including state road projects, also flows through state agencies such as the Alabama Department of Transportation, giving the governor’s office a role in setting priorities.

School choice and the CHOOSE Act

Asked about school choice and whether eligibility should be expanded, Tuberville voiced broad support for the current system under the CHOOSE Act and said it could be evaluated as it moves forward if he is elected.

“My belief is parents should have the opportunity,” Tuberville said. “If they live in a school district that they don’t believe is doing what’s right for their kids, they should be able to go to whatever school works. Public schools, private schools. They pay taxes and I think at the end of the day, it’ll all be evaluated. I like the way it’s going right now. After the first year or so, it’s escalated, and I’m all for that. I’m all for any kid parents think that their kids can get a better education somewhere else. Give them a $7-to-8,000 voucher, but at the end of the day, it’ll start leveling out.”

The CHOOSE Act, signed into law by Ivey in 2024, created education savings accounts that families can use for private school tuition and other approved education expenses. The accounts provide up to $7,000 for eligible private school students and up to $2,000 for homeschooled students. In its early years, the program gives priority to lower- and middle-income families, with eligibility scheduled to broaden over time.

School choice has become one of the clearest dividing lines in the governor’s race. Tuberville’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, has called for a gradual phaseout of the CHOOSE Act, arguing that public money should be focused on public schools. Read our coverage of Jones’ recent Daphne town hall.

A state lottery: ‘Let’s let them do it’

On a possible state lottery, Tuberville said the decision should rest with Alabama voters, but that he would sign off on lottery legislation if it reached his desk.

“I’m not a gambler but everywhere I go, everybody wants it to come,” Tuberville said. “Governor has nothing to do with it. State legislature is going to have to put it on the ballot and we need to let people vote for it. I want to do it early because I don’t want anybody complaining ‘Well, can we do this or that?’ I think the legislature has to get it done and let the people vote on it, and if it passes, it passes, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. That way, we don’t have any complaints about it. I guess you have to sign off on it at the end of the day. I’d sign off for it if the people voted it in, but let’s let them do it. Let’s not play dictators.”

Alabama is one of a handful of states without a state lottery. Voters rejected a lottery proposal in a 1999 statewide referendum, and lottery and gambling bills have repeatedly stalled in the Legislature since then, most recently in 2024, when a broader gambling package fell short in the state Senate. Because a lottery would require amending the state constitution, lawmakers would need to approve a proposed amendment by a three-fifths vote in each chamber before it could go to voters.

The governor’s race

Tuberville, a former head football coach at Auburn University, is giving up his U.S. Senate seat to run for governor. He faces Democratic nominee Doug Jones, a former U.S. senator, in the general election. Both are seeking to succeed Gov. Kay Ivey, who is term-limited. Independent Ronald Brunette Jr. is also on the ballot.

Tuberville’s visit to Orange Beach came days before Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Oct. 9, sending damaging winds across coastal and inland Alabama.

Key dates for voters

• Voter registration deadline: Monday, Oct. 19
• General election: Tuesday, Nov. 3
• Where to check registration and polling places: the Alabama Secretary of State’s website, sos.alabama.gov, or the Baldwin County Board of Registrars