After his own party declined to investigate whether Senator Tommy Tuberville has really been a resident of Alabama for the past seven years, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken McFeeters is hoping to have his day in court.
McFeeters announced the suit Tuesday in a press conference on the Capitol steps, alleging that discovery would prove that while Tuberville has a homestead listed in the state, it is not where he has lived.
“I’m through with asking—now I’m demanding; Tommy Tuberville, tell the people the truth,” McFeeters said.
The suit is filed in Covington County, a move McFeeters said is due to it being closest to Destin, Florida, where he alleges Tuberville actually lives, as well as concerns that the Montgomery court system would “drag its feet” and wait to disprove Tuberville’s residency until after the primaries to ensure a Democratic victory.
One example McFeeters gave of Tuberville’s personal records pointing to Destin as his primary residence is a carafe that showed Tuberville serviced his vehicle three times in Destin.
“You get your car serviced where you live,” McFeeters said.
He also provided flight logs for Tuberville that show a pattern of trips to Florida.
“In 2017, he publicly stated that he hung up his whistle and moved to Florida,” McFeeters said. “When he decided to run for the U.S. Senate, which has different rules for residency than governor, he changed his homestead to Alabama. That’s it. Nothing else changed. His spending habits did not change, his utility bills did not change, where he had his pizzas delivered did not change. Nothing changed except his homestead; and his credit card statement and utility bills will change this.”
McFeeters warned that if his challenge isn’t won by the primary, top Democratic candidate Doug Jones would file suit the next day and likely win in court, leaving Alabama with a “Mountainbrook liberal” in charge with no time for the Alabama Republican Party to field a challenger.
