Cherokee Tribune – State District 14 Senate candidate defends eligibility

CANTON — District 14 state Senate candidate Matt Laughridge is disputing claims that he is not legally eligible to run in the Nov. 5 special election because he hasn’t lived in the senatorial district he wants to represent for a full year.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office received a formal complaint challenging Laughridge’s candidacy Friday afternoon and is reviewing claims that his bid for the seat violates the state’s Constitution, Cody Whitlock, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office, confirmed.

Laughridge, 25, sent out a news release late Friday stating he said would set the record straight.

He was one of six candidates who qualified to run for the seat Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville) resigned from to focus on his bid for U.S. Congress.

“Questions surrounding my qualifications for the 14th Senate District race are nothing more than a political ploy meant to distract voters from the real issues of this campaign,” said Laughridge.

“My legal residence for nearly two years has sat squarely in the 14th District.”

That residence is a houseboat docked on Lake Allatoona at an address on Captains Walk Drive in Cartersville, according to Melanie Collier, spokesperson for the Laughridge campaign. Collier said Laughridge is living on the boat while another home in District 14 is being renovated.

Collier said Saturday that Laughridge was “in a very remote area” out of the country and not available for comment about his news release.

The Secretary of State’s Office first began looking into Laughridge’s candidacy Wednesday when Cherokee community activist Linda Flory contacted elections officials and turned over documents she said demonstrated his ineligibility for the office.

The complaint was made official Friday afternoon when Canton resident Garrett Jamieson submitted a formal challenge against Laughridge. Jamieson also submitted complaints against District 14 candidates Dean Sheridan and Christopher G. Nesmith on Thursday, claiming the two were ineligible to run because of unpaid taxes.

via Cherokee Tribune – State District 14 Senate candidate defends eligibility.