U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan will not be able to run for a 26th term in Congress, since he will not be on the August primary ballot. Most of the signatures Conyers had on his petition were invalidated by Wayne County.
Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett confirmed on Tuesday that Conyers’ nominating petitions did not have enough valid signatures, reports The Associated Press. Last week, she said that he missed the threshold by over 400 signatures.
Bloomberg reports that Conyers submitted 2,000 signatures, double the necessary amount. However, only 592 of those were valid.
Conyers has vowed to appeal the decision to the state election office, reports The Detroit Free Press. State elections director Chris Thomas said that his office will have to review Wayne County’s decision.
“It’s a verification process, we’ll be looking at registration status and the spreadsheet they provided us. It won’t take all that long,” Thomas explained.
Conyers, 84, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1964. He is the second-longest serving Congressman, behind his Michigan colleague John Dingell. Dingell has announced plans to retire at the end of his current term.
“He has my full support, and I am confident he will prevail at the polls this fall,” Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told Bloomberg.
The primary is set for Aug. 5.