MAGA-aligned U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who is running for governor against former U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) in Alabama, challenged Jones on social media. Tuberville wrote: “Now that this residency witch-hunt is behind us, it’s time for Doug Jones to come out of his hole and start talking about the issues.”
[NOTE: Tuberville’s former GOP primary opponent, Ken McFeeters, filed a residency challenge to Tuberville’s gubernatorial bid, accusing Tuberville of living in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, not in Alabama over the last seven years. The Alabama Constitution requires that the governor be a citizen of Alabama for “at least seven years” before the date of their election.]
Ken McFeeters, an insurance agent from Pelham, said he believes Tuberville lives at a multi-million dollar beach home in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., and not a smaller house in Auburn that he claims as his main residency. pic.twitter.com/kGBH9e2UH0
— AL.com (@aldotcom) January 27, 2026
Tuberville added: “In 2020, I ran against a liberal Doug Jones, but he has since fallen deep into the socialist, marxist mind virus taking over half of our country. I look forward to beating Doug Jones (again) and being elected as Alabama’s next Governor.”
In response, Jones focused on Tuberville’s charge that he “start talking about the issues” by turning the taunt into a debate invitation. He also indicated that what Tuberville characterized as a “residency witch-hunt” may not be fully “behind” him politically, even after the Alabama GOP dismissed the residency violation charge.
Replying with snark, Jones wrote: “Wow ‘Coach!’ Never expected you would actually want to debate. I’ll send you the GPS pin so you can make it up from Santa Rosa Beach.”
Wow “Coach!” Never expected you would actually want to debate. I’ll send you the GPS pin so you can make it up from Santa Rosa Beach. https://t.co/of0FXdHopV
— Doug Jones (@DougJones) June 15, 2026
Jones’s assertion that Tuberville wouldn’t want to debate has a history, as the two rivals did not debate during their 2020 Senate contest. At the time, Jones — who repeatedly invited Tuberville to debate — said: “I’m confident he’s going to be too afraid to debate me, because I do have a record that he can’t just slap a label on when he’s on the debate stage.”