HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Republican Party said U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville will remain the party’s gubernatorial nominee, rejecting a claim on Sunday that he had not lived in the state long enough to run for governor.
The unanimous decision came after the party's 21-member steering committee heard a challenge filed by Tuberville’s former primary opponent, Ken McFeeters. The challenge argued that Tuberville did not meet the Alabama Constitution’s
seven-year residency requirement.
“We looked at it with the facts. The contest was unsuccessful. And Coach Tuberville will be our nominee for governor," said Scott Stadthagen, the state Republican Party chair, said. Tuberville is often referred to as “Coach” because of his background coaching college football.
Stadthagen did not take questions from the news media. The hearing was not open to the public.
Tuberville has long faced accusations of living in Florida rather than the state he represents in Washington. He has faced the same claim as he runs for governor. “Does he live in Alabama? No,” McFeeters said before the hearing. “He doesn’t live here.”
Tuberville, who easily defeated McFeeters in last month’s primary and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, has called the challenge a joke and said he meets the requirement to serve.
“We’re happy to put the residency issue to bed," campaign chairman Jordan Doufexis said earlier this month. He added that “it’s time to provide the facts and move on.”
Property tax records show Tuberville and his wife own a beach home in Florida valued at $5.6 million. His campaign has said his residence is a home in Auburn. The 1,551-square-foot property has an appraised value of about $291,780. The Auburn home was purchased by his wife and son in 2017. The senator’s name was later added to the property in 2024, and the son’s name removed. Both the Auburn and Florida homes appear to have recently been put in a revocable trust.
Tuberville released heavily redacted Alabama income tax returns from 2018 to 2024 as evidence he meets the seven-year residency requirement. The returns list a redacted Auburn address and indicate the Tubervilles moved to the state in August 2018.
Voting records show Tuberville 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.
McFeeters said Tuberville’s Senate travel records also show frequent travel to the Florida Panhandle, which he said buttresses the idea that he resides in the location.
In a seven-page document explaining their decision, party officials said Tuberville had proven he meets the residency requirement. It cited Tuberville’s evidence, including his voting history in Alabama. The officials said courts have determined voter registration to be an important consideration when determining domicile.
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.
The residency requirement in the Alabama Constitution is awkwardly worded, which could muddy any legal dispute. It says the governor and lieutenant governor “shall have been citizens of the United States ten years and resident citizens of this state at least seven years next before the date of their election.”
Tuberville won the Republican gubernatorial primary overwhelmingly, capturing 85% of the vote to McFeeters’ 9%.
Tuberville faced similar accusations when he ran for Senate in 2020. He was up against Jeff Sessions, who was running for the same seat that he held before he became Trump's first attorney general. Sessions aired a television advertisement describing Tuberville as a “Florida Man.”
Tuberville won 61% of the vote, compared with 39% for Sessions, in a Republican primary runoff, and went on to defeat Doug Jones, the Democratic incumbent.
Tuberville and Jones are headed to a rematch in the governor's race in November.
