Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging Tuberville's eligibility to run for Alabama governor

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit alleging U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville does not meet the residency requirement to run for governor of Alabama.

Montgomery County Circuit Judge Brooke Reid dismissed the case on jurisdiction grounds after finding that she did not have the authority to decide the eligibility of a party’s nominee prior to the general election. Reid, a Democrat, wrote that she had “wrestled” with the decision but there is no legal precedent directly addressing the dispute.

Tuberville, who has represented Alabama in the Senate since 2021, is the Republican nominee for governor. The lawsuit argued that Tuberville does not meet the Alabama Constitution’s seven-year residency requirement to be governor of Alabama.

Joe Espy, an attorney representing Tuberville, praised the decision.

Jordan Doufexis, chairman of Tuberville’s campaign, called the residency allegation a “bogus lawsuit” pushed by allies of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Doug Jones. Jones is running against Tuberville in a rematch of sorts of their 2020 Senate race in which Tuberville defeated Jones.

“Doug Jones’ residency hoax just got sacked for a loss as a Democrat judge in Montgomery dismissed yet another desperate lawsuit from ‘DC Doug’s’ Democrat proxies,” Doufexis said in a statement. He noted that the decision came from a Democratic judge, “who followed the law and rejected a bogus lawsuit aimed at hijacking the election before Alabama voters could decide.”

Barry Ragsdale, an attorney representing the two voters who filed the lawsuit, said he plans to appeal the decision.

“Everyone who has viewed the credible evidence knows that Tuberville really lives in a $5 million gated mansion on the beach in Florida and not in that tiny house behind a strip mall in Auburn,” Ragsdale said. “We are confident that, if given a fair opportunity to present that evidence in court, we could easily establish that Tuberville is lying about where he lives and is ineligible to serve as governor.”

Property tax records show Tuberville and his wife own a beach home in Florida valued at $5.6 million. His campaign said Tuberville resides at a home in Auburn, a 1,551-square-foot (144-square meter) property with an appraised value of about $291,780. The Auburn home was initially purchased by his wife and son. The senator’s name was later added to the property in 2024, and the son’s name was removed.

Tuberville was head football coach at Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. He then coached at Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati. He went to work for ESPN after retiring from coaching. In a 2017 promotional video for ESPN, he talked about moving to Florida after retiring from coaching. Tuberville said he has since moved back to Alabama.

The Alabama Republican Party in June rejected a similar challenge to Tuberville’s eligibility. Party officials cited Tuberville's property, tax and voting records in rejecting the allegation. Voting records show Tuberville last voted in Florida in November 2018. He registered to vote in Alabama on March 28, 2019, about two weeks before announcing his run for Senate.