Tuberville’s office says his primary residence is an Auburn house that records show is owned by his wife and son. But campaign finance reports and his signature on property documents indicate that his home is actually a $3 million, 4,000-square-foot beach house he has lived in for nearly two decades in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., located in the Florida Panhandle about 90 miles south of Dothan.

The Alabama sale in July was notarized by a person who lives in Santa Rosa Beach, indicating Tuberville was there on July 14. His wife, Suzanne Tuberville, a licensed real estate agent in Florida, has worked at a Santa Rosa Beach real estate firm since the start of this year; she does not have an Alabama real estate license.

The senator also signed in person a deed, notarized in Florida’s Walton County, where Santa Rosa Beach is located, on June 30 — during a two-week period starting June 26 that was designated in the Senate as a “State Work Period,” when lawmakers often return to their states to meet with constituents. Tuberville’s office issued a news release saying the senator met with local officials on three days of that period, June 26-28, including in Dothan, but was silent on the rest of it.

Under the U.S. Constitution, senators are required to be “an inhabitant” of the state when elected, so residency requirements can be minimal. Two Democrats, Robert F. Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, were elected senators from New York shortly after moving there. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who represents a district in the Panhandle, in 2019 considered running for Alabama’s senate seat. But voters increasingly are sensitive to the perception that a lawmaker is not connected to a state. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in 2012 lost his Senate seat after it emerged that, contrary to Senate rules, he had billed taxpayers for hotel stays in the state. Lugar had sold his home in Indianapolis after he was elected in 1976 and bought one in McLean, leaving him with no residence in the state.

‘Carpetbagger’ accusations

The question about whether Tuberville is truly a resident of Alabama has affected his political ambitions. In 2017 he announced his decision not to run for governor the next year, citing potential controversy over residency issues. Alabama law requires a person be a state resident for seven years to run for governor — but only for one day to run for Senate.

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