Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis gave up on his race for New Jersey state Senate on Friday, a day after a federal appeals panel removed him from the ballot because he didn't meet a four-year residency requirement.
He had to decide quickly whether to drop out or press on with a court battle. Thursday's ruling came with less than seven weeks before the Nov. 8 election and just as ballots are to be printed and sent out, first to voters overseas, then to others.
Lewis said he would still be involved in Democratic campaigns and charity work — and encouraging people to vote.
"Service does not need a title," he said. "They made their choice, we move on, that's where I am."
His withdrawal caps a week of suspense in his stop-and-go challenge to Republican incumbent Dawn Addiego for a seat representing the heavily Republican 8th Legislative District in the outer ring of southern New Jersey's Philadelphia suburbs.
The Democrat's campaign, begun in April, has been heavy on legal proceedings and light on political debate — though Lewis did knock on plenty of voters' doors.
Lewis, 50, grew up in southern New Jersey but settled in California. He bought homes in New Jersey in 2005 and 2007 and became a volunteer track coach at his alma mater, Willingboro High School, in 2007. But he continued to vote in California until 2009 and didn't register to vote in New Jersey until he started his campaign.
He said he won't run for statewide office or Congress but said he could possibly run for the state Legislature in the future.
The only thing he's ruled out is resuming a project he embarked on with Republican Gov. Chris Christie before he entered the race: becoming a New Jersey fitness ambassador.
The fitness program led to a partisan spat early in his campaign. Lewis said Christie's staff threatened to scuttle the program if Lewis ran. The administration dismissed Lewis' interpretation as a misunderstanding but acknowledged that the program was dead.
"I'd like to work with people whom I can trust," Lewis said with a wink.
