Roger Stone, a former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, told Newsmax on Monday that Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., does not meet residency requirements to run for governor this year under state election law.
On "Finnerty," Stone argued that Swalwell's own mortgage filings showed that his primary and legal residence is in Washington, D.C., not California, which he said disqualifies the lawmaker from appearing on the statewide ballot.
"In order to be on the ballot for a statewide office in California, you must be a California resident," he said. "Under no claim whatsoever is Eric Swalwell a California state resident.
"He has no legal residence in the state of California. He's merely registered to vote there."
Stone said Swalwell lives in a $1.2 million home in the District of Columbia and identified that property as his principal residence in mortgage documents, which Stone said undermines any claim of California residency.
"In his mortgage documents, he says that is his principal legal residence," he said. "So, he is not eligible to be governor of California."
Stone added that the issue is governed by state law, not federal authorities, and said responsibility rests with California's top elections official.
"First of all, it's a state issue," he said. "The secretary of state under California state law determines whose name goes on the ballot."
Stone pointed to a petition filed with California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, by filmmaker Joel Gilbert seeking to block Swalwell from the ballot on residency grounds. Stone said that filing alone should be sufficient to trigger action.
"And the petition that Joel Gilbert, the investigative journalist, filed with the secretary of state should suffice," he said. "Now, if the secretary of state does not uphold the law as they are required to do, this will end up in the courts."
Swalwell, who represents California's 14th Congressional District, has rejected claims that he is not a legal California resident.
Swalwell told the New York Post on Monday that he meets California residency requirements and accused critics of attempting to derail his political future through litigation.
The lawsuit cited in the petition filed by Gilbert argued that Swalwell's voter registration alone does not establish legal residency for the purpose of running for governor.
California law requires candidates for governor to be residents of the state, though disputes over residency have historically been resolved through administrative review or the courts.
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