Kevin Ambler files lawsuit to void Jim Norman's primary night win

TAMPA - It appears the heated race between Republicans Jim Norman and Kevin Ambler for the State Senate is not over after all.

Today Ambler filed a lawsuit asking that Norman's primary night win be voided.

The lawsuit, filed in Tallahassee, requests a judge prohibit Norman's name from appearing on the November general election ballot and name Kevin Ambler the winner of the contentious Republican Primary.

“The whole point of this is he didn't win fair and square if he wasn't qualified to run as a candidate in the first place,” said Ambler.

Not qualified, Ambler charges, because Norman, his former political ally, didn't report on his financial disclosurestatements that he received $435,000 dollars from the late Tampa businessman Ralph Hughes to buy a lakeside house in an Arkansas resort community.

It was an ABC Action News Investigation last month which raised the first questions about the vacation home.

Norman's financial disclosures mentioned nothing about getting a loan from Hughes and when we asked the County Commissioner his response was "Ralph Hughes did not loan me money for that house."

Instead, Norman claims the house was bought by his wife Mearline with a group of investors even though there's no evidence Mrs. Norman is associated with any business or investors in Florida or any where else.

The commissioner claims he had nothing to do with the purchase of the home.

But he sure knows the man who sold his wife the house.

We recently went to Arkansas and saw Michael Roleson, a Miller Beer distributor, who said of Jim Norman, "He's a friend of mine and I'm not going to say a damn thing to you about it," told us.

Ambler is asking the court to look at the Norman's tax returns, bank records, and records involving the purchase of the lake house.

"The courts provide various mechanisms through discovery to obtain documentation and testimony to establish what the source of the funds were," said Ambler.

In a statement, Jim Norman calls the lawsuit "hogwash." Norman said, "Kevin fought a vicious campaign, but the citizens voted overwhelmingly in my favor. Mr. Ambler should lay down his sword and honor the community's choice moving forward."

Jim Norman may have even bigger problems. ABC Action News has learned at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa that the FBI is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the purchase of the Arkansas vacation home Norman says he knows little about.