The Alabama Republican Party steering committee on Sunday dismissed challenges to whether John Wahl, the party chairman who recently stepped down to run for lieutenant governor, and gubernatorial candidate U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville meet the state’s residency requirements for the jobs.
That means there won’t be hearings or further investigation by the ALGOP, but it does not rule out court challenges.
The party generally does not discuss qualification challenges and that’s the case here. Wahl confirmed the dismissal to Alabama Daily News Sunday evening as did Gil Isbell, the former state lawmaker who filed the challenge.
Tuberville’s campaign confirmed earlier Alabama Daily News reporting about the dismissal Monday afternoon.
The Alabama Constitution requires the governor and lieutenant governor be citizens of Alabama for “at least seven years next before the date of their election.”
Tuberville
Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken McFeeters filed the challenge last week, arguing that Tuberville lives at his Florida beach home, not an Auburn residence purchased in 2018.
Tuberville’s campaign said the decision to dismiss by the committee was unanimous.
“Finally, common sense has prevailed and this made-up ‘residency’ hoax will be put to bed for good,” Tuberville’s campaign chairman Jordan Doufexis said in a written statement. “I thought we were done with this after his opponents and the liberal media used this same line of attack in 2019 and Coach went on to hammer incumbent Senator Doug Jones during the 2020 Senate campaign by 20 points – but apparently a desperate primary opponent didn’t get the message this time around.
The facts are the facts: Coach Tuberville spent a decade in Alabama coaching football and raising his family. After his sports career ended, he moved back home to Alabama and has held a driver’s license, voted, and lived in Auburn, Alabama, since 2019. He has spent the past six years proudly representing Alabama in the United States Senate.”
McFeeters on Monday afternoon said he’s preparing a court challenge to Tuberville’s residency.
“It’s just the beginning,” McFeeters told Alabama Daily News on Monday afternoon.
Wahl
Isbell’s challenge, filed Thursday, centered on Wahl having a driver’s license from Tennessee when he was issued a traffic ticket in 2023 and being registered to vote in that state in 2020. Tennessee requires two proofs of residency when issuing a driver’s license.
Wahl, who lives in Limestone County, previously stated that he was planning to move to Tennessee in 2020, but his plans changed. A May 2025 radio interview on the subject was one of the pieces of evidence Isbell submitted to the committee.
Wahl and his attorney, Bryan Taylor, have said having another residence in another state does not negate his residency in Alabama.
“As we explained in our letter (to the steering committee), Alabama law and long-standing legal precedent are clear —having a second residence does not disqualify a candidate from running for office,” Taylor said in a statement. “The only relevant legal question was whether John Wahl had maintained residency in Alabama, and the facts overwhelmingly proved that he had. John was born and raised in Alabama and has continuously voted, paid taxes, and maintained a residence here. To say he is unqualified is ridiculous and without standing.”
Isbell, a former state lawmaker, said he was told the vote to dismiss the challenge was tied 9-9 and the acting party chair broke the tie.
Longtime party executive Joan Reynolds was named acting chair when Wahl stepped down last month.
Isbell also claimed one member of the steering committee has had a private-sector relationship with Wahl and should have recused himself. He said for the committee not to at least hear the challenge is politically motivated and shameful.
“I want to congratulate the nine individuals who voted to hear the challenge,” Isbell said. “They had the courage, the bravery and fortitude to do what is right, because that’s what this is all about.
“For the 10 that voted against it, that isn’t the Republican way. It should be open and transparent.”
Had the ALGOP steering committee voted to hear the challenge, there would have been hearings where Isbell and Wahl could have presented evidence to make their cases. The party’s decision does not rule out future court challenges to residency, though Isbell told ADN he would not bring one.
Wahl jumped into the open race for lieutenant governor on the last day of qualifying in January, the day after receiving President Donald Trump’s endorsement. The competitive GOP field includes Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate, George Childress, Dean Oden, Dr. Stewart Hill Tankersley and Nicole Jones Wadsworth.
On Sunday night, Wahl said the challenge was a “political hit job to discredit and disqualify my campaign.”
“It mirrors the same tactics recently used against Sen. Tommy Tuberville and reflects the broader pattern of political warfare we’ve seen directed at President Donald Trump,” he said. “Voters saw through those attacks, and they will see through this one too.”