Despite saying she won’t pursue a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a Facebook group is calling for Gov. Jennifer Granholm to be a write-in candidate for the November election.
The group, “Draft Jennifer Granholm for MI 8th Congressional District,” which began late last week, had 37 fans as of Monday. The 8th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives currently is held by Republican Mike Rogers, R-Brighton.
The Democrat who filed against Rogers, MSU alumnus Kande Ngalamulume, ended his campaign last week, citing a lack of funds. He will remain on the August primary and November general election ballot.
The filing deadline to run for office was May 11, but candidates who hope to run as a write-in have until July 23 to declare.
Without another Democrat actively campaigning, if Granholm is able to gain more votes than Ngalamulume, she will become the Democratic candidate in the November general election, said John Tramontana, spokesman for the Michigan Democratic Party.
Granholm’s communications office said the governor has no intention of running for Congress.
“She’s focused on finishing her term as governor, and she has no plans on running for Congress at this time,” Granholm’s spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said.
Although she is a Democrat with more name recognition than Ngalamulume, if Granholm does not want the position there is no point in backing her, Tramontana said.
“It’s a moot point,” Tramontana said. “The governor has already come out and said she’s not running, so whether or not we would support her is moot.”
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