Judge dismisses suit challenging Sen. Tuberville's eligibility to run for Alabama governor

By — Kim Chandler, Associated Press Kim Chandler, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-dismisses-suit-challenging-sen-tubervilles-eligibility-to-run-for-alabama-governor Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Judge dismisses suit challenging Sen. Tuberville's eligibility to run for Alabama governor Politics Jul 9, 2026 5:12 PM EDT MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — 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. READ MORE: Sen. Tommy Tuberville wins Republican nomination for Alabama governor 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. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. "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