The Alabama Constitution says an individual must have lived in the state seven years, in order to be eligible to run for Governor. On July 21, the Alabama Supreme Court expedited the lawsuit State ex rel Dorgan v Tuberville, SC-2026-0540. The voters who brought the lawsuit argue that Tuberville does not meet the residency requirement. He is currently a U.S. Senator representing Alabama, although for years critics have charged that he lives in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.
The lower state court had not made a decision about Tuberville’s residency. Instead it said this type of lawsuit cannot be brought, and the issue could only be litigated after the challenged candidate had been elected. See this story.
Recall that Nicholas Kristoff was removed from the ballot in the Democratic primary for Governor of Oregon in 2022, because he did not establish that he would have been a resident of Oregon for 3 years at the time of taking office.
Coach lives in Auburn. Case closed.
The “story” is labeled as a “commentary” which more objectively represents its tone.
This is a more neutral tone.
https://www.al.com/news/2026/07/challenge-to-tommy-tubervilles-residency-appealed-to-alabama-supreme-court.html
This article includes the order of the circuit court dismissing the case.
https://alabamareflector.com/2026/07/09/tommy-tuberville-residency-lawsuit-dismissed-by-montgomery-judge/
The plaintiffs had filed the lawsuit under a statute that applies “when any person usurps, intrudes into or unlawfully holds or exercises any public office, civil or military, any franchise, any profession requiring a license, certificate, or other legal authorization within this state or any office in a corporation created by the authority of this state …”
The question then is whether “nominee of a public party” is a “public office”.
My interpretation of the order is that the trial judge does not know whether she has jurisdiction, and that is better determined by an appellate court, and that she was issuing her order so that it could be appealed. If she had claimed that the circuit court had jurisdiction, there might have been an interlocutory appeal prior to any hearing on the case merits.
The case is reminiscent of the 1932 Texas case regarding the Democratic primary for governor.