Republican candidate challenges Tuberville residency, says he appears to live Florida, not Alabama

Senator Tuberville’s Eligibility for Alabama Governor Challenged Over Residency

A Republican challenger has formally contested U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s eligibility to run for governor of Alabama, claiming the former football coach fails to meet the state’s seven-year residency requirement.

Ken McFeeters, who is also seeking the Republican nomination for governor, filed the challenge Tuesday with the Alabama Republican Party. McFeeters alleges Tuberville primarily lives in a multimillion-dollar beach home in Florida rather than the modest Auburn, Alabama, residence he claims as his official domicile.

“It’s belittling to the average person in Alabama for him to think we believe that he’s being sincere when he says he lives at his son’s $300,000 house when he’s got a $6 million beach house,” McFeeters said in a phone interview. “Where would you live?”

Property records reveal a stark contrast between Tuberville’s two homes. The Auburn property, initially purchased by Tuberville’s wife and son in 2017, has an appraised value of $291,780 and carries a homestead exemption. By comparison, his Walton County, Florida, beach home is valued at approximately $5.5 million. Both properties were recently placed in a revocable trust with Tuberville’s wife serving as trustee.

In his letter to party officials, McFeeters argued that Tuberville’s Auburn address appears to be “an address of convenience rather than a true domicile.” He further pointed to Tuberville’s travel records showing frequent trips to Florida’s Panhandle as evidence supporting his contention.

The Alabama Constitution requires gubernatorial candidates to have been “resident citizens of this state at least seven years next before the date of their election,” though the precise interpretation of this language remains somewhat ambiguous.

Tuberville’s campaign dismissed the challenge as a “ridiculous PR stunt from a desperate candidate.” Campaign spokeswoman Mallory Jaspers defended the senator’s credentials, stating, “Senator Tuberville has proudly represented Alabama in the United States Senate for the past six years. This made-up narrative didn’t work when he was running for Senate in 2019, and it certainly isn’t going to work now.” She maintained that the Auburn home remains Tuberville’s primary residence.

This isn’t the first time Tuberville’s residency has come under scrutiny. During his 2020 Senate campaign, opponents labeled him a “Florida man” and “tourist in Alabama,” though Senate candidacy has less stringent residency requirements than gubernatorial races.

Tuberville’s ties to Alabama include his tenure as head football coach at Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. After leaving Auburn, he coached at Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati before joining ESPN as a commentator. In a 2017 promotional video for the sports network, Tuberville discussed moving to Florida after retiring from coaching.

Voting records show Tuberville cast a ballot in Florida in 2018 before registering to vote in Alabama on March 28, 2019—approximately two weeks before announcing his Senate candidacy.

When asked about the residency requirement earlier this month, Tuberville expressed confidence in his eligibility. “We checked it out. I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought it was a problem,” he told The Associated Press.

The Alabama Republican Party’s 21-member steering committee will now evaluate the challenge. According to party spokeswoman Jeannie Burniston, the committee will determine whether sufficient evidence exists to warrant a formal hearing where both sides can present their cases.

Susan Pace Hamill, a professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, noted the constitutional language regarding residency is vague and potentially open to interpretation. However, she suggested Alabama’s cultural context supports a consecutive seven-year requirement.

“Alabama’s culture is suspicious of outsiders and historically most of Alabama’s governors were born and raised in the state, often having been descended from generations of Alabamians,” Hamill explained.

The residency dispute adds another layer of complexity to Alabama’s upcoming gubernatorial race, highlighting the tension between traditional state politics and candidates with complex residential histories.