Hollier knocked off ballot after amassing support to unseat Thanedar

Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett determined that Adam Hollier did not file enough valid voter signatures to run in the 13th Congressional District's primary against U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar. Her decision knocks a formidable challenger to the incumbent off the ballot.

Garrett's determination comes after a report from county elections staff found Hollier was 137 signatures short of the 1,000 valid voter signatures he needed to submit to secure a spot on the ballot. The report followed a challenge to Hollier's petitions from Thanedar.

In a letter to Thanedar Tuesday, Garrett called the review of all of Hollier's petition signatures "thorough and comprehensive."

Hollier expressed disappointment with Garrett's decision.

"Over the coming days, I will continue to talk to my family, friends, supporters, and Pastor about the way forward," he said in an emailed statement from his campaign.

Among the signatures Garrett rejected as invalid, multiple petition sheets from circulator Londell Thomas were tossed because they appeared to contain fraudulent signatures, including one from a Free Press reporter who never signed Hollier’s petition. A separate circulator for the campaign included another apparently fraudulent signature from the same reporter.

"While I put my trust in someone who let us down in the collection of signatures, ultimately the leadership of the campaign falls on me and I must hold myself to a higher standard," Hollier said in his statement. He also said that Michigan's petition collection system "is sorely in need of reform." During the 2022 election cycle, half of the GOP gubernatorial candidates didn’t make the ballot due to signature fraud.

Hollier amassed the support of prominent Democrats and Black faith leaders in his bid to deny Thanedar a second term. While Hollier submitted more than 1,500 signatures, elections staff identified issues with 690 of them, including suspected fraudulent signatures, duplicates and voters residing outside the 13th Congressional District.

Under Michigan election law, Hollier — or someone "aggrieved" with Garrett's determination to deny him a spot on the ballot — can ask the Secretary of State or the circuit court to review it.

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Hollier — who is Black — sought to restore Black representation for Detroit in Congress after he narrowly lost to Thanedar in the 2022 primary that split the Black vote in Detroit across a crowded field. Thanedar's victory along with the reelection of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, left one of the nation's largest majority-Black cities without a Black member of Congress for the first time in nearly 70 years.

Both Detroit-based congressional districts are heavily Democratic, so the winner of the primary is all but assured to win the general election in the fall. Two other Democratic candidates have filed to run against Thanedar in the Aug. 6 primary: At-Large Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters and attorney Shakira Lynn Hawkins.

Thanedar expressed confidence voters in the district will reelect him. "I look forward to a vigorous campaign with those on the ballot as I will continue to talk about my record and accomplishments for the 13th District," he wrote in statement shared in a text message.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hollier knocked off primary ballot to challenge Thanedar