Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis is on track to run for a New Jersey state Senate seat after winning an uncontested Democratic primary on Tuesday.
But the retired track star, who has nine gold medals under his belt, still needs to get approval from a judge to end up on the general election ballot this November, where he’d be challenging incumbent Republican Dawn Marie Addiego. The seat is in the state’s 8th district, which includes about 20 central New Jersey townships.
Republicans say Lewis, 49, doesn’t meet the state’s residency guidelines, which require candidates to have lived in the state for at least four years. A federal judge allowed him to stay on the primary ballot ahead of a final ruling on his residency.
Lewis spent much of his adult life in California, but was born in the Garden State and bought a home there in 2005. He continued to vote in California until April, when he registered in New Jersey.
