Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Tuesday night he is suspending his campaign for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat and is instead eyeing a possible run for Detroit mayor next year.
Craig, a Republican candidate who made a name for himself as a conservative commentator and for his stint as the police chief of Michigan’s largest city, told the Free Press funding was a major reason for his decision and that he did not feel as though he had the support of enough donors to continue.
Specifically, he said that he did not want a repeat of his 2022 campaign for governor , which saw him knocked off the Republican primary ballot for failing to turn in enough valid signatures supporting his candidacy. He said he had lined up a reputable firm to gather the up-to-30,000 signatures he needed to make the Aug. 6 primary ballot for the Senate race but it would have cost some $350,000 that his campaign did not have.
“I had to make a business decision,” he said. “Many of the donors that invest in candidates wanted to know if I was going to get on the ballot given what happened in the last cycle. Priority one was getting signatures that were validated.”