A new flashpoint has emerged in Alabama’s Republican governor’s race, with questions over where Sen. Tommy Tuberville actually lives now front and center.
According to the New York Post, Ken McFeeters, a Republican running against Tuberville for the party’s nomination, formally challenged the senator’s eligibility this week, arguing that Tuberville does not meet Alabama’s constitutional requirement to have lived in the state for at least seven years before the election.
McFeeters filed the challenge Tuesday with the Alabama Republican Party, alleging that the former Auburn football coach primarily resides in Florida rather than Alabama.
In a phone interview, McFeeters said Tuberville’s lifestyle and property records point to a multimillion-dollar beach home in the Florida Panhandle as his true residence, despite listing a smaller house in Auburn as his primary address.
Property records show Tuberville owns a home in Auburn with an appraised value of $291,780, where he claims a homestead exemption. He also owns a beach property in Walton County, Florida, with an estimated market value of $5.5 million.
The Auburn home was initially purchased in 2017 by Tuberville’s wife and son, before the senator’s name was added and his son’s removed. Both the Alabama and Florida properties have since been placed in a revocable trust, with Tuberville’s wife serving as trustee.
“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. Where would you live?” McFeeters said.
In his letter to party officials, McFeeters argued that the records “if accurate, strongly suggest that Auburn may have been used as an address of convenience rather than as a true domicile.” He also cited Tuberville’s travel patterns, which he said show frequent trips to Florida.
Tuberville’s campaign dismissed the challenge outright. Mallory Jaspers, a spokeswoman for the senator, called it a “ridiculous PR stunt from a desperate candidate.”
“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,” Jaspers said, adding that the Auburn home remains Tuberville’s primary residence.
Tuberville has faced similar criticism before, including during his Senate run, when opponents labeled him a “Florida man” and a “tourist in Alabama.” He told The Associated Press earlier this month that he is confident he meets the state’s residency requirement.
“We checked it out. I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought it was a problem,” Tuberville said. He added that party officials “feel good about it.”
The Alabama Republican Party confirmed that its 21-member steering committee will review the challenge to determine whether it warrants a formal hearing.
The state constitution requires that a governor “shall have been… resident citizens of this state at least seven years next before the date of their election,” language legal experts say leaves room for interpretation.
University of Alabama law professor Susan Pace Hamill noted that while the wording is vague, Alabama’s political history may favor a stricter reading.
“Alabama’s culture is suspicious of outsiders,” Hamill wrote, adding that most of the state’s governors have traditionally been long-established residents.
For now, the challenge adds a new layer of uncertainty — and intraparty tension — to an already closely watched Republican primary.
