GOP candidate says he’ll file residency challenge against Kelly Craft. What do records show?

A Republican candidate for governor says he is planning to challenge the residency of fellow GOP candidate Kelly Craft.

Eric Deters claims that there are issues with Craft’s residency, but a key piece of information presented in a video released announcing his intention to file a suit to remove Craft from contention is incorrect.

Deters, a conservative firebrand attorney from Northern Kentucky whose license to practice law has been suspended in the past, said he’s challenging Craft’s residency now – weeks before the upcoming May 16 primary – because he’s confident that Democrats will bring up similar concerns.

“I have zero doubts that the Democrats are gonna do the same. It is better that we find out now rather than, God forbid, the Republicans lose their nominee because of her residency issue,” Deters said.

Deters says he plans to officially file a legal challenge to Craft’s candidacy sometime this week, unless Craft or her team presents evidence that convinces him otherwise.

In a statement, Craft’s campaign spokesman Weston Loyd said that Craft is a “lifelong” Kentucky resident.

“(Craft) 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 US interests,” Loyd said.

Deters claimed that Craft only registered to vote in Kentucky in 2018, which is false. Craft has been registered to vote in Fayette County since 1991, according to the Fayette County Clerk’s Office. She initially registered as a Democrat that year, and has been a Republican since 1995. Deters declined to share where he got his information.

Craft, a Lexingtonian who served in key ambassador posts in the administration of former president Donald Trump, has also owned a house in the Lexington neighborhood near the Henry Clay estate since 2000. She and ex-husband Judson Knight purchased the home at that time, and she’s been sole owner since 2012.

The plain language of the Kentucky Constitution requires candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to have been “citizens and residents of Kentucky” for at least six years prior to their election.

Craft has been married to billionaire coal magnate and philanthropist Joe Craft, a major donor to the University of Kentucky for years, since 2016. The pair have been deeply involved in Kentucky politics, as well as University of Kentucky Athletics, for many years. Joe Craft is one of the most prominent donors to University of Kentucky Athletics.

Deters insinuated that Kelly Craft’s residency might become an issue because of some links to Alliance Coal, Joe Craft’s company that is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joe Craft himself only recently registered to vote in Kentucky in June 2022, Deters said. The Fayette County Clerk’s Office confirmed this.

Kelly Craft has voted in at least the last five general elections and the last two primary elections. Joe Craft has only voted in the 2022 general election in Fayette County.

Kelly Craft’s mailing address per the Fayette County Property Value Administrator (PVA) is the Lexington business address for Alliance Coal.

The Tulsa County Election Board in Oklahoma said on Monday that Joe Craft has been registered to vote there since 2011, and his registration has not been discontinued. He last voted in summer of 2021, a worker at the election board said. Kelly Craft has never been registered to vote in Tulsa County, according to information provided by the election board.

According to the Tulsa County Treasurer, Joe Craft, through his trust, owns a nearly $1.9 million home in Tulsa.

When Kelly Craft was named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 2019, the Oklahoma Republican party gave congratulations to “Tulsa resident Kelly Craft” on Facebook. The Congressional record of Craft’s nomination, however, emphasized Craft’s Kentucky residency.

14 of Kelly Craft’s 24 donations from 2022 listed on the Federal Election Commission’s website are posted using an Oklahoma address. 10 donations use a Kentucky address. Donations from years prior also use a combination of Oklahoma and Kentucky addresses, with more of her donations listing an Oklahoma address closer to her 2016 marriage to Joe Craft.

A handful of Kelly Craft’s donations to Kentucky politicians were reported to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance (KREF) using a downtown Tulsa address. The majority listed Craft’s Lexington address.

In his video, Deters said he wanted to see Craft’s drivers license as proof of her Kentucky residency.

“I want to see proof of residency established six years prior to this election. Unless I get that information, I’m filing a lawsuit challenging Kelly Craft’s residency,” Deters said.

The Kentucky Supreme Court has previously said that Deters has a “notorious propensity” for filing malicious and frivolous lawsuits.

Deters, who owns a media company and regularly posts news and opinion updates to Youtube, has previously reported incorrect information. He claimed that Damar Hamlin, a football player for the Buffalo Bills, died after a brutal hit that put him in cardiac arrest. Deters’ reporting was quickly disproven.

“She’s a resident of Oklahoma, not Kentucky,” Deters said in his video. “You gotta ask yourself a question, Kentucky: even if you technically established something, do you really feel like she’s one of us?”

The line of attack on Craft has been previously used by a political action committee supporting Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who has been leading in the polls though Craft gained significant ground in the most recent survey. Aaron Whitehead, a general consultant for Bluegrass Freedom Action, said that the Craft campaign has been peddling “lies, deceit and deception.”

“From being investigated for illegally coordinating campaign donations to now potentially being disqualified from the ballot for lying about her Oklahoma residency, Kelly Craft’s campaign is in full meltdown mode,” Whitehead said in a statement provided to the Herald-Leader. “No amount of money can cover up the lies, deceit and desperation coming from the Craft campaign. Voters across Kentucky are sending a clear message: their vote isn’t ever for sale—but especially not to an Oklahoma resident like Kelly Craft.”

Deters will share the debate stage with Craft and a few other leading Republican candidates for governor soon. The two are set to appear on the debate stage at Kentucky Educational Television (KET) alongside Cameron, Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck next week. In a recent poll, Deters came in with 6% support among “very likely” Republican voters, putting him in fourth place in the survey.

The Northern Kentuckian has carved out a lane in the race as the only unabashedly far right candidate spending significant money — most of it his own — in the crowded field of candidates. Deters is in the minority of the field in criticizing U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. McConnell is a key figure in the state and national party, but has the lowest net favorability among state voters of any sitting U.S. Senator, according to a Morning Consult Survey.

Deters has also attempted to distinguish himself by tying his candidacy to Trump despite the fact that Cameron has Trump’s endorsement. Deters has taken trips to Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, and paid Trump’s sons hefty sums to speak at his Freedom Fest event in 2022. Deters claims that the former president himself is set to attend this year’s Freedom Fest. Deters has also taken some unique policy positions for a Republican, like supporting legal recreational marijuana and generally supporting unions.

The Northern Kentucky candidate has made headlines in the past, oftentimes for various lawsuits and courtroom controversy. He sued Facebook for allegedly suppressing his posts, he has sued hospitals over COVID-19 vaccines mandates, and he successfully sued a Cincinnati hospital for carrying out unnecessary spine surgeries. Deters was briefly jailed for violating a gag order in the latter case. He later wrote a book about it.

Deters also made racist comments in 2011 when he was a popular radio host in the Cincinnati area. He apologized for the comments at the time.

Some prior residency challenges have taken place in Kentucky. In 2003, the running mate for former Republican governor Ernie Fletcher was successfully challenged in a lawsuit filed by a University of Louisville student.

Frankfort Bureau Chief Tessa Duvall contributed to this report.