Former track star Carl Lewis has a message for New Jersey's GOP, which is challenging his state senate bid on the Democratic ticket based on residency requirements: "I've actually put USA on my chest and I ran against the world. I can handle the state GOP."So said the nine-time Olympic gold medalist in an interview with MSNBC (below).
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As the Philadelphia Sun further explains:Republicans have challenged his bid for office, saying he lost the qualifying heat by failing to meet the state's four-year residency requirement. Lewis, a New Jersey native, owns homes in his home state and California. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, a Republican, disqualified Lewis. But after he challenged her decision and the residency rule itself, a judge allowed the track star's name to appear on the June primary ballot. He received 2,418 votes in the uncontested Democratic primary; his opponent, incumbent Sen. Dawn Addiego, also unchallenged in the primary, got 4,350 Republican votes. The matter is now in the hands of the federal courts.
Source: Philadelphia Sun.
Time will tell if the champion long jumper can leap over this hurdle. We wouldn't bet against it.
In other news: Rosa Parks Essay Reveals Rape Attempt.
Sheryl Huggins Salomon is senior editor-at-large of The Root and a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based editorial consultant. Follow her on Twitter.
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