Secretary of State's office released from Tuberville lawsuit

June 29, 2026 – MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The two veterans who are suing to prevent U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) from being Governor of Alabama agreed to release Secretary of State Wes Allen (R) from their lawsuit.

Secretary Allen's had argued last week that neither Allen nor his office wee proper to parties to the suit.

The plaintiffs "In dismissing the claims against Secretary Allen, Plaintiffs acknowledge his stated position that neither he nor his office are proper parties to this" action a court document released on Monday stated

The Plaintiffs, after reviewing the arguments filed by the Secretary of State's office acknowledged that there original filing including Allen as a defendant were in error and filed a motion ton Thursday to remove Allen as a defendant.

Circuit Judge Brooke E. Reid approved that motion over the weekend.

Tuberville remains the focus of the ongoing lawsuit.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon to consider Tuberville's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The Alabama Gazette spoke with political columnist former state Representative Perry O. Hooper Jr. (R-Montgomery) about the case.

"I am glad that the Judge went ahead and released the Secretary from the lawsuit," said Hooper. "I hope they go ahead and dismiss the lawsuit against Tuberville as well."

The two defendants claim that Tuberville lives at his home in Santa Rosa, Florida and does not meet the standard set by the Alabama Constitution that a candidate for office reside in the state for seven consecutive years prior to seeking office in Alabama.

This standard is higher than the federal standard. The U.S. constitution only requires that a candidate reside in the state. Tuberville's statis as an Alabama resident was never seriously challenged when he ran for U.S. Senate in 2020, although both his primary and general election opponents attempted to make this a campaign issue during the election.

Tuberville, a native of Arkansas, was an Alabama resident for over a decade before Auburn University fired him as head football coach after the disappointing 2008 season. Forced to seek employment elsewhere, Tuberville replaced the late Mike Leach as head coach of Texas Tech. He later left that position to become the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati. Tuberville resigned from the University of Cincinnati after four seasons as head coach in 2016. Tuberville then spent three years as a sports broadcaster.

Sources close to the case, maintain that Tuberville produced an Alabama driver's license, Alabama tax returns, and Alabama voter registration going back to 2019 – the years in question.

Tuberville's wife – Suzanne – and his son jointly purchased a home in Auburn, Alabama in 2019. That three bedroom, one bath home in Auburn is valued at $291,000. Tuberville maintains that this is his residence. Tuberville also owns a vacation home on the beach in Santa Rosa, Florida valued at $5.6 million.

The 21-member Alabama Republican State Steering Committee heard these arguments in a hearing two weeks ago and found in Tuberville's behalf.

The plaintiffs are claiming in their lawsuit that Tuberville's residence is in Santa Rosa and thus does not meet the standard required by the Alabama Constitution.

Tuberville has repeatedly dismissed residency questions as a "media driven witch-hunt".

After the Alabama GOP rejected GOP primary opponent Ken McFeeters' residency challenge, Tuberville said he was glad to "put the ridiculous residency hoax to bed."

Tuberville has stated that when he is not in Washington, he and his wife are "at home in Auburn and yes, sometimes, at our beach house on the coast."

Tuberville feels that he has effectively established his residency while he was living in Alabama coaching at Auburn from 1999 to 2008 and that should count toward his residency qualification for governor in addition to the six years he has spent as the state's senior Senator and the two years he was campaigning for that position full time.

Tuberville and his wife voted in Florida in 2018 as legal Florida residents.

His Auburn home was not placed in his name until mid‑2024.

Tuberville says that the two plaintiffs are politically motivated.

Tuberville is the Republican nominee for Governor. He faces Democrat former Senator Doug Jones in the November 3 general election. Tuberville unseated Jones in 2020 in a landslide.

Tuberville is endorsed by President Donald J. Trump (R).

We asked Hooper if Jones can win if Tuberville remains the Republican nominee.

"Not no, but Hell no," Hooper said. "Jones has no chance, whatsoever."

The last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Alabama was in 1998 when Don Siegelman (D) unseated Gov. Fob James (R). You have to go back to 1982 before that when former Governor George C. Wallace (D) defeated Montgomery Mayor Emory Fulmer to win his fourth term to find another Democratic victory in an Alabama governor's race.

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