TRENTON — New Jersey’s top election officialruled Tuesday that nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis isineligible to run for the state Senate because he failed to meetthe four-year state residency requirement for candidates seekingelected office.

Secretary of State Kim Guadagno, who is also lieutenantgovernor, ordered Lewis’ name to be stricken from the JuneDemocratic primary ballot.

“I find that respondent was not a resident of New Jersey for theconstitutionally required four years prior to the date of theelection for the office he now seeks,” Guadagno said at the end ofa 15-page opinion.

Guadagno, who is also New Jersey’s lieutenant governor underGov. Chris Christie, noted that Lewis said he paid income taxes inCalifornia, was registered to vote there until recently and hasbusiness offices there. He owns a home in Pacific Palisades,Calif.

Guadagno rejected an administrative law judge’s recommendationthat Lewis be allowed to stay in the race to represent the 8thLegislative District in the state’s south-central region.

Lewis said the ruling would be challenged. The former track starhad told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Christie tried to talk himout of running.

“What’s really clear to me, is that first the governor calledand tried to talk me out of my race, now he’s trying to use hispower to do it,” Lewis said. “I didn’t realize I was going to berunning against the gov in my 8th District race.”

Lewis said it seemed as if the governor pressured his lieutenantgovernor to rule against him.

“I’ve been in competition for a long time so nothing surprisesme,” he said. “What’s sad, though, is who’s talking about thepeople of the 8th District? The kids whose schools are struggling?The seniors who are having trouble paying their taxes?”

An after-hours message was left Tuesday for Christie spokesmanMichael Drewniak. The Christie administration told the newspaperLewis misunderstood the talk.

Lewis, 49, grew up in New Jersey and has owned homes in thestate since 2005. He has been a volunteer track coach at the publichigh school in his hometown of Willingboro since 2007, and he hashad valid New Jersey driver’s license since 2006.

His lawyer, Bill Tambussi said he would file a complaint infederal court alleging that New Jersey’s four-year residencyprovision is unconstitutional and that Guadagno violated Lewis’civil rights. A separate appeal of the decision will be filedWednesday in state Appellate Court.

“Today’s decision is unfortunate but not unexpected,” Tambussisaid. “It is clear that this administration will do anything tokeep Carl Lewis off the ballot. We are not going to let thathappen. Carl Lewis is and has been a legal resident of New Jerseyand it is unconstitutional to declare him otherwise.”

Mark Sheridan, a lawyer for Republicans who challenged Lewis’run, saying he hadn’t met the residency rule, said he was confidentdecision would be upheld.

“It is absolutely the right decision,” Sheridan said. “Itupholds the constitutional requirement that candidates for stateSenate in NJ reside in the state for 4 year preceding their run foroffice. Carl Lewis demonstrated over and over again during thatperiod he was a resident of California, and you cannot be aresident of California and New Jersey at the same time.”

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat, said the decisionwas a political calculation made to bar the internationallyrecognized Lewis from the race.

“The governor couldn’t bully Carl Lewis out of the race and theRepublican party couldn’t make a case stand up in court, so thelieutenant governor did their bidding for them,” Sweeney said. “Thedecision as to whether Carl Lewis can serve in the Senate shouldultimately be made by the voters, not a partisan elected officialfollowing party orders.”