The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Hunter Bates' eligibility to be Ernie Fletcher's running mate in the Republican governor's race was challenged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Oldham County.

The suit, by a member of the Young Republicans at the University of Louisville, contends Bates is ineligible to be a candidate for lieutenant governor because he has not been a Kentucky resident for at least six years preceding the election, as required by the state Constitution.

In the suit, W. Curtis Shain asks the Oldham County Circuit Court to prohibit Bates' name from being printed on the May 20 primary election ballot.

Fletcher's campaign accused two rivals in the GOP primary - Steve Nunn and Rebecca Jackson - of exploiting the issue.

"We look forward to the decision and believe the court will affirm what we know - Hunter Bates is and always has been a Kentuckian," Fletcher campaign manager Daniel Groves said in a statement.

Both Nunn and Jackson said they did not know Shain personally and said their campaigns had no involvement in the suit.

Bates is a protege and former staff employee of Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell.