MI-01, MI-06, MI-11: On Wednesday, the Michigan Secretary of State's office announced that seven House candidates had failed to turn in enough valid signatures to make the August primary ballot. A few were minor candidates, but there were a few recognizable names:
MI-01: Matt Morgan (D)
MI-06: Paul Clements (D), Eponine Garrod (D)
MI-11: Dan Haberman (D), Kristine Bonds (R)
We'll start with the 6th District, which is probably the most surprising of this group. Clements was the 2014 and 2016 nominee against GOP Rep. Fred Upton, and he was running in a crowded primary to face him for the third time. A March Clements internal gave him a 21-12 lead over Garrod, a party activist who had raised little money; two better-funded candidates, physician and former YMCA national health officer Matt Longjohn and former Kellog lobbyist George Franklin, were in the single digits.
According to the secretary of state, Clements only turned in 991 valid signatures, which was just nine short of what he needed, while Garrod had 974. Garrod says she'll argue her case on Friday at a Board of Canvassers meeting, but it's not clear what Clements plans to do.
Over in the open 11th District, the state said that Haberman and Bonds needed 56 and 102 more signatures, respectively. Neither candidate raised much money (Bonds, who is the daughter of the late well-known TV anchor Bill Bonds, hasn't reported raising any), so their departure probably wouldn't impact their respective primaries much. It's also not clear if either plans to appeal the state's decision.
Finally, the state's ruling against Morgan in the 1st District was expected over the last month, but still unwelcome. Morgan, who was the only Democrat who filed to challenge freshman GOP Rep. Jack Bergman, put a P.O. box rather than his home address at the top of the petitions themselves, which the state's Bureau of Elections said renders them unacceptable. Morgan said a month ago that he'd "pursue "all legal means necessary" to continue his campaign if the Board of State Canvassers ruled against him, and he said he'd run a write-in primary campaign if need be.