New Lawsuit Challenges Tuberville Residency

A new lawsuit filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court is challenging U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s eligibility to serve as Alabama’s next Governor, setting up the most serious legal test yet of the residency questions that have followed his 2026 campaign.

The complaint was filed by Brooke Lynn Dorgan of Mobile County and Justin Jude LeBlanc of Jefferson County. Both are Alabama voters and Veterans. The lawsuit names Tuberville and Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen as defendants.

The filing does not challenge the vote count from the Republican primary. Instead, it argues that Tuberville is not legally qualified to be the Republican nominee because the Alabama Constitution requires a Governor to be a “resident citizen” of Alabama for seven years before the election.

The 2026 general election is set for November 3. That means, under the plaintiffs’ reading, Tuberville had to establish Alabama residency no later than November 3, 2019.

The complaint states:

“Relator Plaintiffs contend that Tuberville is constitutionally prohibited from being certified as the nominee or serving as Governor because he fails to satisfy the 7-year durational residency requirement contained in the Alabama Constitution.”

The filing continues that Tuberville has “usurp[ed], intrude[d] into or unlawfully holds or exercises a public office” by serving as the certified Republican nominee despite what the plaintiffs claim is a lack of legal eligibility.

The lawsuit is brought as a quo warranto action, along with a request for declaratory and injunctive relief. Quo warranto is a legal action used to ask, in plain terms, “by what authority” a person holds or claims a public office. It does not ask whether that person is doing a good job. It asks whether that person has the legal right to hold the office at all.

The plaintiffs argue Tuberville does not.

Their filing claims Tuberville remained a Florida resident past the key November 2019 deadline. It cites his Florida voter registration, his Santa Rosa Beach home, his 2018 vote in Florida, tax questions, travel records and the timeline of his Auburn residence.

The complaint alleges Tuberville registered to vote in Walton County, Florida, in May 2017 and listed his Santa Rosa Beach home as his legal residence. It also states that Tuberville and his wife voted in Florida in 2018.

The Auburn house now tied to Tuberville’s Alabama residency claim is also a central part of the lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege the Cherry Street home in Auburn was bought in 2017 by Tuberville’s wife and son, not by Tuberville himself. They also argue Tuberville was not added to the deed until 2024 and did not personally claim a homestead exemption there until 2025.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare Tuberville ineligible to serve as Governor, issue a writ of quo warranto, and block Allen from placing Tuberville’s name on the November ballot.

It also seeks expedited handling of the case. Attached discovery requests ask for records including tax returns, utility bills for the Auburn and Florida properties, insurance policies and other documents. Notices of deposition were also filed for both Tommy and Suzanne Tuberville.

This is not the first challenge to Tuberville’s residency.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken McFeeters first filed a formal challenge with the Alabama Republican Party in January, arguing that Tuberville’s status as a continuous Alabama resident was in doubt. Tuberville’s campaign dismissed that complaint at the time.

“What 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,” Tuberville spokesperson Mallory Jaspers told WSFA at that time.

McFeeters later sued Tuberville over the issue before the primary, then filed a post-primary contest asking the Alabama Republican Party to void Tuberville’s GOP win. Tuberville easily won the May 19 Republican primary with over 85% of the vote and was certified as the party nominee on May 27.

On June 14, the Alabama Republican Party rejected the residency challenge after a formal hearing.

ALGOP Chairman Scott Stadthagen said the committee had reviewed evidence and sworn testimony before siding with Tuberville.

“Coach Tuberville provided the evidence necessary to establish beyond any doubt that he fully meets the residency requirements to serve as governor, and the challenge failed to present any evidence that proved otherwise,” Stadthagen said.

The party also said Tuberville submitted state tax records, property and home ownership records, driver’s licenses, voter registration and other material to support his residency claim.

Tuberville has also argued that his time living in Alabama while coaching at Auburn satisfies the constitutional requirement.

“You can go back to, as long as you’ve had a seven year…I was at Auburn 10 years and so I lived there for 10 years in a row,” Tuberville said. “So it’s not your last seven years.”

The new lawsuit rejects that argument. It says the Constitution’s phrase “seven years next before the date of their election” means the seven years must come right before Election Day.

That is now the question headed to court.

If the plaintiffs prevail, Tuberville could be removed from the ballot before the November election. If Tuberville prevails, the residency fight that has shadowed his campaign since January may finally be put to rest in a court of law.

The complete filing may be found below: