(CNN) – After failing to get on the ballot for his re-election bid, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan announced Tuesday he will run as a write-in candidate for the Republican primary in the state's 11th Congressional District.
The congressman, who made a fleeting bid for president last year, said Friday that state officials notified him his petitions were insufficient and contained irregularities.
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In a Detroit News op-ed Tuesday morning titled "You clean up your own mess," McCotter further elaborated on the unfolding of the mishap.
"'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans,' John Lennon mused. How right he was," McCotter wrote.
Seeking a sixth term, McCotter said he had delegated the ballot petitioning to the same team that handled the task in his previous campaigns. He added the group had, in fact, filed the maximum amount of 2,000 signatures allowed before the May 15 deadline.
Without going into the details, however, he said his campaign reviewed the paperwork and ultimately agreed with the secretary of state's office that the signatures were still "insufficient."
"Now I feel like George Bailey after Uncle Billy admitted he lost the money. Like George, knowing my misplaced trust has negatively impacted so many people is heartrending. Unlike George, I am not tempted to jump off a bridge," he wrote.
The Michigan Secretary of State's Office required congressional candidates to submit 1,000 valid signatures to qualify for their party's ballot. State law dictates those signatures be collected no more than 180 days before the petition is filed, and candidates may submit up to 2,000 signatures to cover any ruled as invalid.
"Yes, a write-in campaign is a difficult hill to climb but, as I am responsible for the hill, I will climb it to the utmost of my ability," he wrote.
McCotter called on the state to further investigate the situation and determine how the mistakes took place.
Michigan holds its primary on August 7.
– CNN's Ashley Killough, Adam Levy, Gregory Wallace and Robert Yoon contributed to this report.
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Romney likely to hit 'magic number' on Tuesday
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Why investigate? The poeple who made the mistake work for him; he should just ask them. McCotter is either playing dum or he taking the people of his district for suckers.
Maybe the people have grown tired of you after 5 terms.
This guy is bringing a "bag of dung" with him.
Michigan Republicans are running that state like a dictatorship. They have been sending in unelected officials to towns and cities to replace the duly elected officials, who acts as a dictator. The voters have no say in the matter.
I think jumping off the bridge is the best idea he has ever had!
Regardless of how you feel about Mr. McCotter, the petitioning system for ballot access is antiquated and subject to many problems. It is now not allowing the public to vote for the people they want to vote for. This is BAD FOR DEMOCRACY.
I will write him in. Im very happy with the way he has represented his district.
"Now I feel like George Bailey after Uncle Billy admitted he lost the money. Like George, knowing my misplaced trust has negatively impacted so many people is heartrending."
When that happened the normally nice George Bailey started taking out a lifetime of frustration on the first convenient targets. If that's the Congressman's idea of when George was showing heartrending concern for other people, I don't think everybody's going to show up now to help him out.
from the article:
The Michigan Secretary of State's Office required congressional candidates to submit 1,000 valid signatures to qualify for their party's ballot
He added the group had, in fact, filed the maximum amount of 2,000 signatures allowed before the May 15 deadline.
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That takes talent. How do you get more than half of your submitted signatures tossed out?
vote all repos out move forward not back to the bush years. Obama 2012