Kentucky Republican governor candidate Kelly Craft speaks to a crowd at Heitzman Traditional Bakery and Deli in Louisville on Feb. 16. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
A Lexington? judge dismissed a residency challenge filed against Republican governor candidate Kelly Craft on Thursday.?
The lawsuit was filed against the former United Nations ambassador by another Republican candidate, suspended Northern Kentucky attorney Eric Deters.?
According to court documents, Fayette Circuit Judge Lucy A. VanMeter dismissed the lawsuit after Craft produced records proving her Kentucky residency that were reviewed by Deters. The agreed order says Deters “agrees that under the applicable legal standards Kelly Craft has been a ‘resident’ of Kentucky for at least the last six years.”
The challenge was discussed by the candidates in a KET debate earlier this week. There, Deters alleged Craft was an Oklahoma resident. Her husband, coal businessman Joe Craft, is an executive of a company headquartered in Tulsa.?
During the debate, Craft said Deters’ challenge was “absolutely not true” and said that her residency was vetted when she was appointed to her ambassadorships. She also was ambassador to Canada. When asked, she added that she did not have dual residency in Oklahoma.?
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McKenna Horsley
McKenna Horsley covers state politics for the Kentucky Lantern. She previously worked for newspapers in Huntington, West Virginia, and Frankfort, Kentucky. She is from northeastern Kentucky.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
