GOP challenges Carl Lewis' state senate bid
Republicans filed a complaint on Monday challenging Carl Lewis's candidacy for the New Jersey state Senate, arguing that he does not meet the state's residency requirement.
Lewis, a nine-time Olympic gold medalist, announced his Senate candidacy last week, citing a desire to "change the political discourse in New Jersey."
But Bill Layton and Ted Costa, two GOP officials in the state, say that Lewis voted in California as recently as 2009 and thus does not meet New Jersey's four-year residency requirement.
"By voting in 2008 and 2009, Mr. Lewis confirmed that by law, he was a 'resident' of the State of California," the complaint alleges, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger. "Accordingly, Mr. Lewis cannot also have been a 'resident' of New Jersey at that time."
According to the Associated Press, Lewis grew up in New Jersey and owns two homes there - one of which he bought in 2005. He said he transferred his voter registration to New Jersey last week, on the same day he announced his candidacy.
Lewis has not yet responded to the complaint.
