EXCLUSIVE: Former GOP Senate Candidate Makes Endorsement In Battleground State Primary
'Mike has dedicated his life to protecting the American people'
Apparent Ballot Petition Fraud Involving Democrat Campaign Discovered In Another Indiana County
'Most of what they turned in to us were not even registered voters,' Roush said.Michigan GOP gubernatorial candidates lose court battles to get back on the ballot
Michigan Republican James Craig and two other GOP candidates for governor have lost court battles to get their names back on the ballot for the upcoming gubernatorial primary.
Half of the would-be Republican challengers to incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) were locked out of the race last week after Michigan's board of canvassers left in place a decision by the state's bureau of elections. Earlier in May, the bureau said that five of the 10 Republican candidates for governor did not submit enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the GOP primary ballot.
Craig, who was presumed the front-runner for the GOP nomination and was found to have turned in more than 11,000 invalid signatures, had asked the Michigan Court of Claims to require the board of canvassers to review his nominating petition signatures line-by-line to prove invalidity or fraud, WDIVTV reports. He claimed that the board was required by law to verify each petition signature using the Qualified Voter File, a database of registered voters in the state.
But the court rejected his challenge. The court said that the board "did not have a clear legal duty to compare all of the signatures in plaintiff's nominating petitions against the QVF" to determine their genuineness. Similar rulings were handed down in challenges brought by businessman Perry Johnson and financial adviser Michael Markey.
These decisions mean that five lesser-known candidates, Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke, Ryan Kelley, Tudor Dixon, and Ralph Rebandt, are the only candidates who will appear on the GOP ballot in August.
Responding to the court's ruling, Craig said he is "very disappointed" and announced his intention to appeal the case to the Michigan Supreme Court. He also told the Detroit News last week that if his legal challenge is unsuccessful, he may attempt to mount a write-in campaign for the GOP nomination.
"Rest assured, we will be appealing this questionable decision to a higher court,” Craig said in a statement. “Our fight is not over.”
Johnson is also taking his case to the state supreme court.
A review by Michigan's Bureau of Elections found there were at least 68,000 invalid signatures submitted between the five GOP candidates. The bureau said it was "unaware of another election cycle in which this many circulators submitted such a substantial volume of fraudulent petition sheets consisting of invalid signatures."
Michigan state law requires that candidates for governor submit at least 15,000 valid signatures, and 100 from each congressional district, to qualify for a party's primary ballot.
Half of Michigan GOP candidates challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — including presumed front-runner — may be disqualified from ballot
Michigan Republicans may be facing disaster after half of their 2022 candidates for governor were declared ineligible for the ballot Monday, including presumptive front-runner James Craig.
The Michigan Bureau of Elections on Monday found that Craig, the former Detroit chief of police, businessman Perry Johnson, and three others did not submit enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the GOP primary ballot — potentially cutting a field of 10 candidates down to just five lesser-known individuals seeking to unseat Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
State law provides that candidates for governor must submit at least 15,000 signatures, and 100 from each congressional district, to qualify for the primary ballot. Candidates are permitted to submit up to 30,000 signatures for review.
According to the Detroit News, a bureau staff report said election officials tracked 36 petition circulators "who submitted fraudulent petition sheets consisting entirely of invalid signatures." The bureau was "unaware of another election cycle in which this many circulators submitted such a substantial volume of fraudulent petition sheets consisting of invalid signatures."
The bureau reportedly estimated that these circulators submitted at least 68,000 invalid signatures across 10 sets of nominating petitions. "In several instances, the number of invalid signatures submitted by these circulators was the reason a candidate had an insufficient number of valid signatures," the report said.
Craig, viewed as the front-runner for the GOP nomination, was found to have turned in 11,113 invalid signatures, including 9,879 signatures from "fraudulent petition circulators." Of the 21,305 signatures his campaign turned in, only 10,192 were found to be "facially valid," falling short of the required 15,000.
Johnson, the wealthiest candidate in the race, was found to have submitted 9,393 invalid signatures and 13,800 valid ones, falling short of the requirement.
“Michigan’s petition process is fatally flawed because it easily allows criminals to victimize candidates for public office and their thousands of supporters who legitimately sign petitions,” Johnson said in a campaign statement Monday. “We must bring quality to the petition process by allowing campaigns a mechanism to compare signatures that are gathered by circulators with signatures on the Qualified Voter File to ensure their legitimacy.”
“Criminals are able to defraud campaigns and their thousands of supporters by submitting signatures of questionable legitimacy to be included with legitimate signatures,” Johnson added. “Criminals can commit fraud for money or by purposely infiltrating a victimized campaign with illegitimate signatures in a machiavellian attempt by the opposing party to later have them removed from the ballot. Unfortunately, the signatures provided to campaigns cannot currently be checked until after their submission to the Secretary of State. This needs to change, immediately.”
Craig told Detroit Free Press reporter Paul Egan that he hopes Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel will open a criminal investigation of fraudulent signatures.
"I do believe this was a well-planned and orchestrated effort to get me off the ballot," Craig said. "I'm being robbed of the opportunity ... to let Michigan voters decide who should represent the GOP," he added.
The findings of the elections bureau are a recommendation made to the Michigan Board of State Canvassers and are not a final decision. The board will vote on Thursday, May 26, on which candidates have enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Candidates Garrett Soldano, Kevin Rinke, Ryan Kelley, Tudor Dixon, and Ralph Rebandt were found to have enough valid signatures to qualify.
Former police chief says what we've all been thinking about Jen Psaki
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has done it again. It's almost as though she is purposely trying to be unlikeable. But, she is the press secretary, so Americans must endure the spectacle of sidestepping tough questions and her failed attempts to appear charming.
Jen Psaki did herself no favors when she made an appearance on a left-leaning podcast and joked that media coverage of violence in major cities like New York came from an "alternate universe." RNC Research shared a clip of the interview on Twitter.
"CNN [is saying] 'Pentagon: As many as 8,500 US troops on heightened alert.' OK, true," Psaki said. "Same on MSNBC. CNBC is doing their own thing about the market."
"And then, on Fox is ['The Five' co-host] Jeanine Pirro talking about 'soft-on-crime consequences. I mean, what does that even mean, right? So, there's just an alternate universe on some coverage. What's scary about it is, a lot of people watch that," Psaki added.
Michigan gubernatorial candidate and former Detroit police chief James Craig joined Fox Business Anchor Maria Bartiromo on Sunday and discussed Psaki's dismissive attitude toward crime in America.
Bartiromo asked the former police chief to give his reaction to Jen Psaki, saying, "What does that even mean."
"She's pathetic," Craig responded. "That smug, disrespectful attitude, in addition to apologizing to the men and women who serve, how about apologizing to victims and victims' families."
The conversation shifted to focus on progressive policies that defund the police and dramatically alter the federal prison system.
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BLM protesters heckle, swarm former Detroit top cop James Craig, a black Republican, as he announces bid for MI governor
Black Lives Matter and anti-police protesters shouted down former Detroit Police Chief James Craig as he attempted to announce his candidacy for governor of Michigan in Belle Isle on Tuesday.
A crowd of about 50 protesters chanted "Black Lives Matter," "No justice, no peace, James Craig is still police," and other heckling jeers as they swarmed the podium where Craig, a black Republican, attempted to make a speech.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Craig's speech was delayed by about 20 minutes before he finally shouted: "I've got one thing to say: I'm running for governor!"
He was then hurried away by campaign staff into a black SUV as protesters pressed in around him and his team.
A spokesman for Craig said he would return eventually, but the protesters shouted vulgar jeers and gave him the middle finger as the candidate was driven away.
The campaign relocated to the rooftop of the former UAW GM Center for Human Resources building, where Craig delivered his speech against the backdrop of the Detroit skyline, Chad Livengood reported for Crain's Detroit Business.
“This is what contingency planning looks like,” @chiefjamescraig says as he starts a speech atop of The Icon buildi… https://t.co/Y3oxTsAb4q
— Chad Livengood (@ChadLivengood) 1631634260.0
After relocating, Craig told the Detroit News he was disappointed that the demonstrators lacked respect for his First Amendment right to speak.
"They wanted to disrupt the speech, and they did that," he said.
He also criticized the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for failing to provide security for his campaign event.
"The DNR knew about the potential for protests yesterday, I'm told. ... They indicated they were going to come and move the protesters back," Craig said. "That never happened. So it makes me wonder if it was by design."
He further accused the department of having "no respect for my safety or the safety of my team. They would not show up knowing that this group had the potential to become violent."
Speaking at his second campaign event, Craig said the hecklers were a "small group of paid protesters" who never should have been allowed to disrupt his event.
"I know who they are, and they know who I know who they are," he said. "They do not represent the majority of Detroiters."
The protesters belonged to a group called Detroit Will Breathe, a Black Lives Matter activist group that protested in Detroit after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. During those protests, Craig was still serving as chief of police in Detroit before retiring on June 1 of this year.
Detroit Will Breathe supports defunding the police and has alleged that Craig's police officers used unjustified force against their protests. In fall 2019, the group sued to ban Detroit cops from using batons, riot gear, tear gas, and rubber bullets against protesters. The group repeatedly called for Craig to be fired.
Craig, 44, was the chief of Detroit police for nearly eight years before retiring. Born and raised in Detroit, he worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for nearly three decades before becoming the chief of police in Portland, Maine, in 2009. In 2011, he became the chief of the Cincinnati Police Department before moving back to Detroit about two years later.
A conservative, Craig became a regular feature on Fox News and in several conservative media outlets as a foil to Democrats who supported gun control and the defund the police movement.
He had been teasing his run for governor as a Republican for months before officially joining the race this week.
Craig joins nine other Michigan Republicans who are vying to unseat Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who faces intense criticism for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As chief of police, Craig was responsible for enforcing Whitmer's coronavirus lockdown orders, including restrictions on businesses and face mask requirements.
As a candidate for governor, Craig has criticized Whitmer's policies but defended his record, saying he would not defy her orders as other Republican law enforcement officials did because that wasn't his job.
"We wrote something like 6,000 tickets," Craig said in August. "[I] didn't like it, absolutely didn't like it, but I'm the police chief, I follow rules and in law enforcement you are nonpartisan."
"So, I followed what was passed down from the governor to our mayor."
He added that he ordered his department to stop issuing citations for coronavirus violations after he witnessed that protesters in Lansing were not being fined for neglecting to wear masks.
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