GOP Rep. McCotter ends write-in campaign

GOP Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) announced Saturday that he would end his write-in bid for reelection and would finish his term in Congress.

“I have ended my write-in campaign in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District,” announced McCotter, in a statement. 

{mosads}His decision comes after news last week that the five-term lawmaker had failed to collect enough signatures to appear on the ballot in his bid for reelection to the House.

McCotter was quick to acknowledge the misstep saying that the “buck stops with me” and had begun efforts to wage a write-in campaign.

However, despite signals for GOP leaders that they would support his bid, he reversed course on Saturday. 

“One can’t clean up a mess multitasking. Honoring my promise to the sovereign people of our community only allows me to finish the official duties of my present Congressional term; and aid the State Attorney General criminal investigation that I requested into identifying the person or persons who concocted the fraudulent petitions that have cost me so dearly,” he said. 

McCotter had suggested that his campaign’s failure to secure 1,000 valid signatures to be on the ballot had been the work of political sabotage. Of the 2,000 signatures submitted, reports said only a few hundred were deemed valid by Michigan state election officials.

“Honoring this promise does not allow me to continue a political write-in campaign. This decision is final, regardless of how swiftly the investigation is concluded,” he added.

McCotter had spent much of the past year focused on his unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination. 

The Michigan lawmaker faced an uphill climb in the GOP primary. He had less than $200,000 cash on hand for a possible write-in contest and had already attracted a Tea Party-backed challenger, Kerry Bentivolio. 

“To those who unhappy [sic] at this news, I’m sorry; to those happy at this news, you’re welcome,” McCotter said, in his statement Saturday.