New Jersey’s top election official tossed Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis off the ballot.
Lewis’s petition to run for state Senate as a Democrat was challenged by Republicans. They said Lewis voted in California until recently and registered to vote in New Jersey the same day he announced his candidacy.
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in her dual role as Secretary of State made the decision on Tuesday, which is expected to be appealed.
A Burlington County GOP official praised the decision on Tuesday.
"Today’s decision... clearly states that 'the right to run for office is not unlimited,' even for carpetbaggers like Carl Lewis who believe that their celebrity can trump everything, including the law," GOP consultant Chris Russell said in a statement.
The nine-time gold medalist declared his candidacy for the 8th District senate seat earlier this month.
The 49-year old Lewis said he has owned homes in his native New Jersey since 2005.
Politics
An administrative law judge had recommended last week that Lewis be allowed to run.
Lewis told the Philadelphia Inquirer Gov. Chris Christie tried to talk him out of running. Christie told the newspaper Lewis misunderstood the talk.
Lewis would have been running unopposed in the June 7 Democratic primary. He was looking to challenge Republican State Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego in November.
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