U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is facing a renewed residency challenge as he runs for governor. The Alabama Republican Party is set to meet in a closed-door hearing to determine if Tuberville has lived in the state long enough to lead it.

Residency Requirement

Tuberville’s former primary opponent, Ken McFeeters, filed a challenge arguing that Tuberville does not meet the Alabama Constitution’s seven-year residency requirement. McFeeters claims that Tuberville does not live in Alabama, but rather in Florida, where he owns a $5.6 million beach home.

Tuberville’s campaign has said that his residence is a home in Auburn, which was purchased by his wife and son in 2017. The senator’s name was later added to the property, and the son’s name removed. Both the Auburn and Florida homes appear to have recently been put in a revocable trust.

Travel Records

McFeeters also pointed to Tuberville’s Senate travel records, which show frequent travel to the Florida Panhandle, as evidence that he resides in the location. Tuberville has released heavily redacted Alabama income tax returns from 2018 to 2024 as evidence that he meets the seven-year residency requirement.

The residency requirement in the Alabama Constitution is awkwardly worded, which could muddy any legal dispute. It says that the governor and lieutenant governor ‘shall have been citizens of the United States ten years and resident citizens of this state at least seven years next before the date of their election.’

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.