Tommy Tuberville

An Alabama judge has dismissed a court challenge to Tommy Tuberville’s candidacy for governor, saying she doesn’t have jurisdiction over the issue.

Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Brooke Reid issued an order on Thursday.

Reid said she had “wrestled” with the question of whether state law allows courts to weigh in on the question of whether Tuberville continue as the Republican nominee.

Plaintiffs argued that he should not be on the ballot because they say he has not lived in Alabama for seven years.

Tuberville’s lawyers say he meets the residency requirements and that the Republican Party and legislature should decide candidate questions, not the courts.

Reid said the plaintiffs made a strong case for their concerns, but her court does not have jurisdiction over a quo warranto claim, which challenge’s someone’s right to hold public office.

The ruling was expected -- and is expected to be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

“It’s not a well-settled issue in my opinion,” Reid said at a previous hearing.

Tuberville says he started living in Auburn in 2019. He switched his driver’s license and voter registration to Alabama that year.

Other candidates and, now, voters have challenged that claim, but Tuberville so far has successfully beat back efforts to take him off the ballot.