A Tallahassee judge has rejected the attempt of one GOP gubernatorial candidate to knock another out of the race. James Fishback will remain in the primary, beating a challenge from Lt. Gov. Jay Collins.

There’s a seven-year residency requirement to be governor. Collins said Fishback violated that, pointing to how he registered to vote and voted in Washington, D.C.; filed D.C. resident tax returns; and certified a condo there as his primary residence on mortgage paperwork.

Fishback’s Testimony

In a hearing last week, Fishback testified that his tax preparer handled his returns. Fishback said he “inadvertently” registered in D.C. after walking into a polling place to vote for Trump in 2020 and signed mortgage papers there in a rush and didn’t mean to list that home as his primary residence.

“It may be true that the various election and financial filings and transactions about which the plaintiff complains could result in regulatory, maybe even more severe legal, repercussions for the defendant under Washington, D.C. law,” wrote Judge David Frank.

Fishback said he bought the home to visit his parents, referring to it as an “investment property.” And he said he got “stuck” in D.C. in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement to reporters, Collins’ counsel is accusing Fishback of committing fraud in D.C.

Original reporting: Jacksonville Today — read the source article.