U.S. Senate candidate Jared Hudson is bringing a deeply personal and faith-driven message to North Alabama as he works to build momentum in the Republican primary.
Hudson, a former Navy SEAL, law enforcement officer and CEO of Covenant Rescue Group, is seeking to replace Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) in the 2026 race.
During a recent campaign stop in the region, he framed his candidacy around three defining pillars: faith, family and service.
“So the first thing is I’m a Christian. But in Alabama political season, we always got to qualify that it means Jesus is Lord and Savior. He’s God Incarnate, lived a perfect life, died, rose, gone third day for our sins,” Hudson said. “And it’s still more set free. The reason I start off with that is the only thing about Jared that’s eternal. And that’s important because the eternal is the most important.”
He followed that by emphasizing the role his family plays in his decision to run.
“Secondly, I’m a 7th generation Alabama family man,” Hudson said. “My wife and I are raising our girls right here in the state. A wise man plants trees no one will ever sit in the shade of, and my wife and I plant trees hoping that one day our kids get to sit in the shade and partake in the same great state, same great nation that we partook in and hopefully have even greater opportunities.”
Hudson said his background in military and law enforcement service, along with his work combating human trafficking, forms the foundation of his campaign message, particularly his emphasis on being a “fighter.”
“We live in a time where all of these politicians, that’s all they claim, ‘I’m a fighter, I’m a warrior’ and they’re not. You’ve got a bunch of politicians that sent me and my buddies to war, and they don’t care that we die,” Hudson said. “Every deployment I went on, I had buddies that didn’t come back.”
He pointed to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as a turning point.
“We pull out, we leave, you know, Christian missionaries there. I actually got to go back and we went to the Badakhshan corridor and pulled 75 people, so Christian families out,” he said.
Hudson said that message is resonating with voters, particularly as he works to build a grassroots campaign against more established political opponents.
“The benefit I have is being just a regular dude from north Jefferson, Alabama,” Hudson said. “We have been able to get a real grassroots campaign going and to be able to compete on par with a congressman and attorney general… that’s a testament to how people resonate with our message.”
As the race moves closer to the May primary, Hudson said his focus is on timing and making sure voters hear that message at the right moment.
“It’s always timing in these campaigns, making sure everything is lined up to get all of the information out there as soon as the voter base is ready,” Hudson said. “We’re making sure that everything is lined up appropriately and perfectly to fire that shot that we need for our message to spread.”
Hudson said he believes that approach will ultimately carry him through the race.
“We believe that we’ll win in the end because our message actually resonates with Alabama,” he said.
The Republican primary is scheduled for May 19, 2026.
