Thad McCotter

Thaddeus George "Thad" McCotter , born August 22, 1965 is the U.S. Representative to Michigan's 11th congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes portions of Detroit's northwestern suburbs, such as Livonia, Westland and Novi.
He is running for reelection. From July 2 to September 21, 2011, he was an official candidate for the Republican nomination for president in the 2012 election.

n April 2011, McCotter was the only member of Michigan's 15-member congressional delegation who did not confirm he was running for re-election. He indicated interest in running against incumbent Senator Debbie Stabenow for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan up for election in 2012, but in May 2011, he announced that he would not campaign for the position. After ending his bid for President, McCotter announced that he would seek the seat once more.

Wikinews has related news: U.S. Congressman Thad McCotter denied ballot in re-election primary race; announces write-in campaign
On May 25, 2012, Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced that McCotter had failed to submit enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the August 7 primary ballot. While McCotter had turned in 2,000 signatures--the maximum permitted by Michigan law for congressional primaries--a preliminary review indicated that fewer than the required minimum of 1,000 were valid. According to a spokeswoman with the Secretary of State's office, several of McCotter's petition signatures appeared to be duplicates. Michigan election law stipulates that if duplicates are found, both the original and duplicate are ruled invalid. McCotter would have the option of running as a write-in candidate in the primary election or as an independent in the general election if he fails to qualify for a primary ballot spot.

On May 26, a source with the McCotter campaign told the Detroit Free Press that McCotter has conceded that the signatures will be ruled invalid, and that he is considering mounting a write-in effort for the Republican primary.McCotter confirmed this to Nolan Finley of The Detroit News, and added that he doesn't understand what happened. According to Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics, if McCotter is relegated to a write-in candidacy, he would be the first sitting congressman since the late 1940s not to qualify for his party's primary.
In an op-ed that ran in May 29's Detroit News, McCotter announced he will mount a write-in campaign in the Republican primary for his seat. He also acknowledged that the signatures in question were indeed invalid, based on his own legal team's review. Likening himself to George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, McCotter said that he was running a write-in campaign to "clean up my own mess."[24] Later that day, state officials announced in two separate reviews that more than 80 percent of McCotter's petition signatures were invalid. The Secretary of State's office said its review revealed only 244 of 2,000 signatures were valid. Numerous petition sheets appeared to have been copied--in some cases, as many as three times--and in some cases a different canvasser's name was attached to one of the copies. Michigan elections director Chris Thomas conducted his own review, and said there was evidence signatures from 2010 petitions had been cut-and-pasted onto the 2012 sheets. Thomas also said that McCotter had only turned in 1,830 signatures, and all but 344 were invalid. His office's review revealed that dozens of petition sheets appeared to have been copied in what he described as an "unprecedented level" of fraud.
Late on May 27, the Secretary of State's office announced that it is looking into the possibility of fraud or forgery in McCotter's petitions.


Seize Freedom!: American Truths and Renewal in a Chaotic Age, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2011


McCotter is a practicing Catholic. He is married to the former Rita Michel, a nurse. They have three children.
McCotter was once in a band called the New Flying Squirrels.
[edit]"Second Amendments" band
In December 2005, McCotter joined with several other Congressmen to form the "Second Amendments," a bipartisan rock and country band set to play for United States troops stationed overseas over the holiday season. He plays lead guitar. In June 2006, the band played for President Bush's Picnic on the White House lawn, where Bush was quoted calling McCotter "that rock and roll dude.


McCotter is a frequent guest on the late-night Fox News Channel television show Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld.
McCotter is also a regular guest on Dennis Miller's radio show, where the comedian-host refers to him as "young Thad" and "T-Mac" and frequently comments that he "likes the cut of his jib."
In June 2011, McCotter appeared on the Fox News Channel show Huckabee, where he performed in a musical number with his guitar.