MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit alleging U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville does not meet the residency requirement to run for governor of Alabama.Montgomery County Circuit Judge Brooke Reid dismissed the case on jurisdiction grounds after finding that she did not have the authority to decide the eligibility of a party’s nominee prior to the general election. Reid, a Democrat, wrote that she had “wrestled” with the decision but there is no legal precedent directly addressing the dispute.Tuberville, who has represented Alabama in the Senate since 2021, is the Republican nominee for governor. The lawsuit argued that Tuberville does not meet the Alabama Constitution’s seven-year residency requirement to be governor of Alabama.Joe Espy, an attorney representing Tuberville, praised the decision. Jordan Doufexis, chairman of Tuberville’s campaign, called the residency allegation a “bogus lawsuit” pushed by allies of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Doug Jones. Jones is running against Tuberville in a rematch of sorts of their 2020 Senate race in which Tuberville defeated Jones. “Doug Jones’ residency hoax just got sacked for a loss as a Democrat judge in Montgomery dismissed yet another desperate lawsuit from ‘DC Doug’s’ Democrat proxies,” Doufexis said in a statement. He noted that the decision came from a Democratic judge, “who followed the law and rejected a bogus lawsuit aimed at hijacking the election before Alabama voters could decide.”