By Greg Stempfle, Political Director
Link to the April Michigan Libertarian.
There is just one month until the filing deadline for the August primary!
At last count, there are at least 22 Libertarian Party members who have filed campaign finance paperwork to run for office or are collecting signatures, including special elections and nonpartisan races. It’s up to all of us to help recruit members of our party to run for office and help collect signatures for those who need assistance.
The following candidates have already filed and are qualified for the August primary. Leonard Schwartz and Bill Gelineau submitted the necessary number of signatures to run for Congress and Governor respectively and twelve candidates have filed to run for the Michigan Legislature by paying the refundable filing fee; eight for State House and four for State Senate.
- Governor – Bill Gelineau
- Congress – Leonard Schwartz (D11)
- State Senate – Chad McNamara (D17), Erwin Haas (D26), Max Riekse (D34), and Tim Coon (D35)
- State House – Anthony Croff (D39), Frederick Mercado (D57), Norm Peterson (D64), Jason Rees (D65), Jamie Lewis (D72), Patty Malowney (D77), Tyler Palmer (D93), and Robin Melcher (D95)
The following candidates are currently collecting signatures to appear on the August primary.
- Governor – John Tatar and Jeff Wood
- US Senate – Brian Ellison
- Congress – Ronald Hawkins (3), Mike Saliba (9)
Additionally, Larry Johnson is running for Ypsilanti Township Parks Commission in a special election to be held on May 9, Mark Ashley Price is running for a seat on the nonpartisan Highland Park School Board, and Greg Stempfle has filed for Secretary of State but the nomination will not be made until the fall convention held after the August primary.
If you are interested in running, here is a quick reminder of the filing requirements with convenient hyperlinks. There are three things that must be submitted to run for a State or local race and only two requirements for a federal race.
1) All candidates are required to file an Affidavit of Identity, which must be notarized.
2) All candidates for State, County and Local offices must fill out a Statement of Organization.
Statement of Organization (State, file online with state)
Statement of Organization (County and Local, file physical copy with county clerk)
Candidates for Federal office are not required to file a Statement or Organization but are encouraged to register with the FEC to give your candidacy more credibility.
House and Senate candidate registration.
3) Lastly, as a result of being qualified for the primary, our candidate must file either a certain number of signatures or pay a $100 refundable filing fee. Nominating petitions are available at any County Clerk office.
Governor and US Senator – 15,000-30,000 signatures
US Congress – 1,000 – 2,000 signatures
State Senate – 500 – 1,000 signatures or a $100 refundable fee
State House – 200 – 400 signatures or a $100 refundable fee
County offices – signatures or a $100 refundable fee,
Township, and Village offices – signatures only
The Michigan Secretary of State has more thorough information about the requirements for filing for office on their website which I encourage everyone to become familiar with.
Candidates looking to run for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Justice of the Supreme Court, State Board of Education, or any of the public university boards, will be nominated at the LPM Fall State Convention held after the August Primary election.
