The race for governor in Michigan took a dramatic turn this week after state election officials recommended that two gubernatorial candidates be disqualified from the August primary ballot over invalid petition signatures.
According to a report released Wednesday by Michigan’s Bureau of Elections, Democratic candidate Kim Thomas and Republican candidate Ralph Rebandt failed to submit the minimum number of valid signatures required to qualify for the Aug. 4 primary election.
The findings now place both campaigns in jeopardy and could significantly reshape the political landscape heading into one of Michigan’s most closely watched gubernatorial races in years.
State law requires gubernatorial candidates to submit at least 15,000 valid signatures from registered voters, including at least 100 signatures from voters in half of Michigan’s congressional districts.
Election officials said the problems uncovered during random signature sampling were severe enough to recommend both candidates be removed from the ballot entirely.
For Thomas, the numbers were staggering. Bureau staff reportedly found only 60 valid signatures in a random sample of 750 signatures reviewed. To pass the threshold for ballot qualification, at least 626 valid signatures were required from that sample. Thomas had submitted nearly 18,000 signatures overall, but the sample review suggested a catastrophic invalidation rate.
Rebandt’s campaign fared better but still fell short. Election staff determined only 533 signatures in his 750-signature sample were valid, below the required 618 needed for qualification. Rebandt submitted more than 18,000 signatures statewide.
The recommendations are not final yet. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to meet May 28 in Lansing to determine whether it will formally adopt the Bureau of Elections’ recommendations and disqualify the candidates from the ballot.
The controversy immediately reignited concerns about Michigan’s petition process, which has been plagued in recent election cycles by fraudulent circulators, invalid signatures, and major ballot access scandals. Michigan voters may remember the chaos surrounding the 2022 gubernatorial race, when several high-profile Republican candidates were removed from the ballot after investigations uncovered widespread forged petition signatures tied to professional circulators.
This latest controversy, however, affects candidates from both parties — a development likely to intensify scrutiny over how campaigns collect, verify, and submit nominating petitions.
Meanwhile, several other gubernatorial candidates survived challenges to their signatures.
On the Republican side, John James and Perry Johnson successfully cleared signature challenges and were deemed to have sufficient valid petitions.
Other candidates who passed review included Jocelyn Benson, Chris Swanson, Aric Nesbitt, and former Attorney General Mike Cox.
If the Board of State Canvassers upholds the recommendations next week, the Democratic primary field would narrow to Benson and Swanson, while the Republican field would consist of James, Johnson, Cox, and Nesbitt.
The disqualifications would mark a devastating blow to both Thomas and Rebandt, whose campaigns now face a rapidly shrinking path forward as Michigan’s election season accelerates toward the August primary.
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