Republican Congressman Thad McCotter has been officially removed from the August primary ballot by a state elections board. The board ratified a finding that the McCotter campaign submitted hundreds of faked, photo-copied on nominating petitions.
The determination was made by state elections officials, and is not being contested by Congressman McCotter. This will bring to an end his 10-year congressional career. Only last year, McCotter made a brief run at the Republican presidential nomination.
State Elections Director Chris Thomas says the case and the petitions will be turned over to the Michigan attorney general’s office, which is conducting a criminal investigation.
“We’ve done our part," he says. "We’ve reviewed the petitions and found them to be insufficient.”
There’s no word on when the criminal inquiry might wrap up. McCotter says he will cooperate with it.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders in the 11th Congressional District are trying to coalesce behind a write-in candidate to challenge a Tea Party candidate who qualified for the primary ballot.