KENTUCKY, USA — With only weeks left until Kentucky's primary election, one Republican candidate for governor is taking aim at a fellow candidate's legal residency.
Eric Deters filed a lawsuit against gubernatorial opponent Kelly Craft on Monday claiming Craft doesn't live in Kentucky.
In a copy of the lawsuit, Deters claims Craft actually has a permanent home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
According to Kentucky law, a candidate for governor must have lived in Kentucky for a least six years prior to their election. That would be May of 2018.
Deters claims in the suit that while Craft may own a home in Lexington, that doesn't mean it is her legal residence. He points out that her husband -- Joe Craft -- has his legal residence listed in Tulsa.
The lawsuit says that while Craft has been registered to vote in Kentucky since 1995, she hasn't actually voted since 2018.
In a statement, Craft's campaign said when former President Donald Trump nominated Craft to be the United States UN Ambassador, "the official Senate record said 'Kelly Craft of Kentucky' because that's where she lives."
“Kelly is a lifelong resident of Kentucky, born and raised in Barren County. She has resided in Lexington for years, and maintained that domicile residence when she served America as President Trump’s Ambassador to Canada and the United Nations where she helped President Trump negotiate the biggest trade deal in American history and stood up to China to protect US interests. These bogus attacks mean that Kelly’s opponents see what we see – Kelly has the momentum going into the final two weeks of the primary,” spokesperson Weston Loyd said.
On Monday, May 8, Craft's campaign said a judge has dismissed the lawsuit.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the free WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
Sign up for the WHAS11 newsletter: "WHAS Up Kentuckiana." Get the latest headlines and videos from around Kentuckiana delivered daily to your inbox.