Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., is launching a write-in campaign to qualify for the Republican primary in August following the announcement Tuesday that the Michigan attorney general is reviewing his ballot signature petition for criminal fraud.
The five-term congressman’s campaign had turned in more than the 1,000 signatures needed to qualify for the state’s Aug. 7 primary, according to the
Detroit Free Press.
But all but 244 of the 1,830 signatures on the ballot petition were ruled as suspicious or fraudulent by the secretary of state’s office, which asked the attorney general to investigate.
According to the Free Press, the petition problem is expected to benefit teacher and tea party activist Kerry Bentivolio, who at the moment is only Republican whose name will be on the primary ballot.
McCotter has denied any wrongdoing and says he agrees that the matter should be investigated.
“My gut tells me that we got lied to by someone we trusted,” he told reporters. “There are irregularities that need to be investigated. We relied on people who had done it before for us. But somebody did something that they shouldn't have.”
McCotter, however, is expected to have the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in his write-in effort, the Free Press reported.
An NRCC spokesman said the group’s chairman, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, would be helping McCotter raise money.
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