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.
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.
“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.
Tuberville was head football coach at Auburn University from 1999 to 2008. He then coached at Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati. He went to work for ESPN after retiring from coaching. In a 2017 promotional video for ESPN, he talked about moving to Florida after retiring from coaching. Tuberville said he has since moved back to Alabama.
