Adam Hollier disqualified from 13th District Democratic Primary ballot after signature review

Live news from the FOX 2 Detroit studios

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A heavily-endorsed candidate for Congress running for the 13th District seat in Detroit won't appear on the ballot in the 2024 Democratic Primary election, the Wayne County Clerk has determined.

Adam Hollier's campaign filed 1,553 signatures to the clerk's office. But in a review of the submitted signatures, the clerk determined only 863 signatures were valid. In order to qualify for the primary ballot in August, candidates for Congress must submit at least a thousand valid signatures.

Shri Thanedar, who currently holds the seat and is running for reelection, had challenged the submitted signatures earlier this year. In his team's request for review, they argued Hollier's team provided forged signatures to the clerk's office.

In their determination, the clerk's office noted many of the signatures had "the same distinct handwriting and patterns indicative that the same hand fraudulently signed every line of each petition sheet."

Of the rejected signatures, 115 were discounted during the clerk's review, while another 575 were dismissed after a challenge from Thanedar's camp.

Hollier was seen as the biggest threat to Thanedar's incumbency, having scored endorsements from former Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence and Wayne County Executive Warren Evans. He also had the support of local leaders in Detroit like Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate and former mayor Dave Bing.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, Hollier said he was disappointed by the news, but took responsibility for his campaign failing to submit enough signatures.

"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. It is also clear that our state’s system of ballot access and petition collection is sorely in need of reform - so that future campaigns, as well as the voters of this state - do not fall victim to fraud. Over the coming days, I will continue to talk to my family, friends, supporters, and Pastor about the way forward."