Craig petitions challenged
FILE - James Craig, a former Detroit police chief, announces he is a Republican candidate for governor of Michigan, in Detroit, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Ten Republicans have filed petitions to run for governor by the deadline, a record number in recent history, creating a huge field for a primary electorate that will decide who challenges Democrat Gretchen Whitmer. The lineup for the August 2022 primary may shrink if election officials find problems with signatures that were submitted. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon speaks to the media after turning in nominating petitions, Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lansing, Mich. (Craig Mauger/The Detroit News via AP)
FILE - James Craig, a former Detroit police chief, announces he is a Republican candidate for governor of Michigan, in Detroit, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Ten Republicans have filed petitions to run for governor by the deadline, a record number in recent history, creating a huge field for a primary electorate that will decide who challenges Democrat Gretchen Whitmer. The lineup for the August 2022 primary may shrink if election officials find problems with signatures that were submitted. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon speaks to the media after turning in nominating petitions, Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lansing, Mich. (Craig Mauger/The Detroit News via AP)
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LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A group tied to Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon challenged nominating petitions submitted by rival candidate James Craig, saying Tuesday that he likely did not turn in enough valid signatures to qualify for the GOP primary.
Dixon, the former host of a conservative news show, and Craig, the ex-Detroit police chief, are among 10 Republicans who filed petitions by April 19. The deadline to contest signatures is Tuesday.
"After our review of Craig’s petitions, we concluded that the combination of incompetence, invalidity, unregistered voters and apparent fraud means there is a strong probability that Craig submitted insufficient signatures to qualify as a Republican candidate for the governor -- and it’s likely that the Craig campaign knows it," said Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for Michigan Strong, a super PAC supporting Dixon.
A message seeking comment was left with Craig’s campaign.
To qualify, candidates for governor must turn in at least 15,000 but no more than 30,000 valid voter signatures. The political action committee challenged nearly 7,300 of the 21,735 signatures Craig submitted.