Tagged: Thaddeus McCotter

A special election has to be held to fulfill the rest of Thaddeus McCotter's term in the U.S. House of Representatives. McCotter resigned in the wake of a nominating petition mess.

Now, one of those running for McCotter's seat says she won't actively campaign for the special Sept. 5 election. The election will determine who will represent the 11th District for the six weeks until the Nov. election.

More from the Detroit Free Press:

While former state Sen. Nancy Cassis’ name will be on a special primary ballot on Sept. 5 to fill out the remainder of former U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter’s congressional term, she will not actively campaign for the seat.

“I want to make clear that I will not actively campaign for the primary,” she said Monday.

So Cassis isn't campaigning, but her name will appear on the ballot along with Steve King, Kenneth Crider, Carolyn Kavanah, and Kerry Bentivolio.

Bentivolio won the August primary for the full 2-year term for a new seat in the 11th District. He'll face a Democratic challenger in Nov.

Not guilty pleas were entered today on behalf of three former staff members accused of forging or falsifying signatures on nominating petitions for former Republican Congressman Thaddeus McCotter.

McCotter's former deputy district director Don Yowchuang and district director Paul Seewald appeared in court in Livonia for arraignment. Both are free on $50,000 personal bond.

Mary Turnbull was a district representative for McCotter in Howell. She appeared this morning in Troy district court and was released on $5,000 bond.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has filed criminal charges against former staffers of former Congressman Thaddeus McCotter.

The five-term Congressman resigned from office after fake signatures were found on his re-election petitions.

Schuette charged four McCotter staffers with conspiring to commit election fraud.

The charges range from felony conspiracy, to misdemeanor counts of falsely certifying petitions.

Schuette says the four used a variety of tricks to inflate the number of petition signatures needed to get McCotter on the ballot.

“They copied petitions, submitted petitions falsely signed by circulators, and did cut and paste jobs that would make an elementary art teacher cringe," he said.

Schuette says it’s clear McCotter was “asleep at the switch” while his staffers “acted above the law.”

There’s no evidence McCotter was aware of their schemes.

But Schuette says that if such evidence emerges, he won’t hesitate to “pull the trigger and file new charges.”