MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Republican Party has set a hearing about Republican gubernatorial nominee U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s residency status.
The hearing is the latest development in the long challenge to Tuberville’s state residency from primary opponent Ken McFeeters in January.
The Constitution requires that the governor be a citizen of Alabama for “at least seven years next before the date of their election.” McFeeters claims that Tuberville has not lived in Alabama for the last seven years and is therefore ineligible to serve as Alabama’s governor.
Tuberville easily secured the Republican nomination in the May 19 primary, earning 85.5% of the vote.
The hearing called on Monday comes after McFeeters filed a statement contesting Tuberville’s nomination following the certification of the primary results.
McFeeters also brought a residency challenge to the ALGOP during candidate qualifying, but the party dismissed that challenge in early February. McFeeters later took the challenge to the Covington County Circuit Court, but a judge dismissed that case last month.
McFeeters said in a press release Monday that he received a formal notification from the ALGOP’s legal counsel stating that the party’s candidate committee reviewed his challenge and deemed that it met the requirements needed to proceed.
He said the party scheduling a hearing is a major procedural milestone.
“This is not a dismissal and it is not a preliminary review,” McFeeters said in the release. “The Alabama Republican Party has determined that my contest is facially valid and that the issues raised could affect the outcome of the primary election. Under the Party’s own rules, that finding requires the matter to proceed to a final hearing.”
The final hearing will take place at 2:00 p.m. on June 14 in a law firm’s office in Birmingham.
The hearing will involve an exchange of evidence and testimony from both sides. ALGOP Chair Scott Stadthagen will serve as the hearing officer and will make recommendations.
McFeeters says that travel records filed as part of Tuberville’s U.S. Senate expense reports and political action committee filings show lots of travel to Florida but little to or from Auburn, where Tuberville says he lives. He claims that Tuberville only started traveling back to Auburn from Washington D.C. after he announced his gubernatorial run last May.
“This case is about upholding the Alabama Constitution and ensuring that every candidate seeking the state’s highest office meets the qualifications required by law,” McFeeters said. “The people of Alabama deserve a fair and transparent review of these issues.”
The Tuberville campaign said it will submit a comprehensive report to the committee, including Tuberville’s tax returns and property records.
Alabama Daily News reported last year that the Auburn home Tuberville claims as his primary residence has had a homestead exemption applied to it since 2018.
Records show the home was purchased in the name of Suzanne Tuberville, the senator’s wife, and their son, Tucker Thomas Tuberville. The senator’s name was recently added, and the son’s removed, according to online records.
The Tubervilles own two properties in Walton County on the Florida Panhandle, according to records from the county appraiser’s office. Neither property has had a homestead exemption filed by Tuberville in the last seven years. Homeowners can only claim one homestead tax exemption.
“We’re happy to put the residency issue to bed. It has served its purpose, and it’s time to provide the facts and move on…” Jordan Doufexis, Tuberville’s campaign chair, said. “I have no doubt that, when the record is reviewed in full, the committee and everyone else will conclude that Coach Tuberville not only meets but exceeds every constitutional requirement to serve as Governor of Alabama.”