Michigan Congressman Thad McCotter, who would have been a shoo-in for reelection in November, reportedly failed to turn in enough valid signatures to qualify for the August 7 primary.
It would appear that McCotter, a Republican who has represented Michigan’s 11th Congressional district for the past 10 years, was done in by grossly incompetent staff work.
According to the Michigan Live website , election officials reviewed “2,000 signatures submitted by the McCotter campaign and determined fewer than 1,000 were valid.”
Michigan law requires each congressional candidate to submit 1,000 valid signatures by May 15 to make the primary ballot. The GOP primary would have been a mere formality for McCotter.
A formal decision by state election officials is expected in early June, but it sounds like it’s a foregone conclusion.
McCotter’s office said that his campaign would “review our petition signatures for their sufficiency or insufficiency,” and respect “the accuracy and integrity of the Secretary of State’s office,” according to CNN .
McCotter’s statement also declares that “out of respect for Memorial Day, an announcement of our findings will be made public on Tuesday.”
Michigan Live indicates that Thad McCotter could run as a write-in candidate, with some strings attached:
But he would need to win more votes than the other Republican who filed to run and also get a minimum threshold of votes — 5 percent of all votes cast in the “top-of-ticket” race in the district, most likely the U.S. Senate primary for Debbie Stabenow’s seat.
One other Republican, Kerry Bentivolio, and two Democrats, qualified for the primary.
McCotter, who briefly ran for president this year, is known for his dry sense of humor particularly in his appearances on FNC’s Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld . Given the petition fail, McCotter will really need a good sense of humor in this mess.
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Thad McCotter may also now have more time to play guitar in his rock band, the Second Amendments.
