Northern Kentucky Republican gubernatorial candidate and former attorney Eric Deters said he plans to file a residency challenge against fellow GOP candidate Kelly Craft.
Deters announced his plans in a video released Monday and said he’s waiting on additional information showing issues with Craft’s Kentucky residency. Craft’s campaign said in a statement that she’d been a “lifelong” resident of the commonwealth.
“I plan on filing this week,” Deters said in the video, “a legal challenge to Kelly Craft’s residency requirement in order to be governor of Kentucky and even run for governor of Kentucky.”
The Kentucky Constitution requires that gubernatorial candidates be Kentucky residents at least six years before the election.
According to reporting from the Lexington Herald-Leader, there are issues with one of Deters’ claims.
Deters’ claim that Craft registered to vote in Kentucky in 2018 is invalid, according to reporting in the Herald-Leader and voting records from the Fayette County Clerk. Records show she’s been registered to vote in Fayette County since 1991 — she first registered as a Democrat but then registered as a Republican in 1995.
“Kelly is a lifelong resident of Kentucky, born and raised in Barren County,” said Craft’s Campaign Spokesman, Weston Loyd, in a statement. “She and her husband have 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 U.S. interests.”
Craft served as the former Ambassador to Canada and United Nations Ambassador. The Congressional Record from her U.N. Nomination shows she’s from Kentucky, despite the Tulsa Oklahoma GOP — Craft’s husband Joe owns a home in Tulsa through his trust — wishing “Congratulations to Tulsa resident Kelly Craft, who was just confirmed as the 30th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations! #OklaProud.”
Joe Craft is still registered to vote in Tulsa, however, and has been since 2011. He registered to vote in Kentucky in 2022.
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Written by Mark Payne. Cross-posted from Link NKY.
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