Washington — Republican U.S. House candidate Robert Lulgjuraj has enough valid voter nominating signatures to remain on the ballot in a key suburban Detroit contest, a preliminary review by state election officials found.
“My opponents pushed frivolous and baseless accusations because they are concerned about the momentum we are building through the power of my message,” Lulgjuraj (pronounced LOO-JER-EYE) said Friday in a statement.
One of Lulgjuraj’s primary opponents, Justin Kirk, previously filed a complaint claiming that his rival’s nominating petition was “deficient on multiple grounds” and specifically noted 752 of the 1,682 signatures submitted. House candidates need 1,000 valid signatures to make the Aug. 4 primary ballot.
Staff for Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers considered the complaint and found that more than enough of Lulgjuraj’s signatures were valid. The bipartisan board will formally weigh its staff recommendation on Lulgjuraj later this month.
The state Bureau of Elections report on Lulgjuraj’s nominating petitions identified 108 invalid signatures and recognized an additional 243 as potential forgeries by a circulator working for the Lulgjuraj campaign.
The report, however, noted that Lulgjuraj would surpass the required 1,000-signature threshold even if all of the entries in question were thrown out. Because of that “cushion,” the report said it was “not necessary for staff to process the remainder of the challenge.”
The report also dismissed two “invalid” claims by Kirk regarding signature form labeling and the allowable time window for collecting nominating petition signatures. The full text of the report is available here.
Assuming the board accepts that recommendation, Lulgjuraj will face off in a competitive three-way GOP primary in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, which covers southern Macomb County, and Rochester and Rochester Hills in Oakland County.
Republican U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township currently represents the district but opted to run for governor of Michigan rather than seek re-election to his seat.
The GOP primary to replace him is set to feature Lulgjuraj, a former Macomb County assistant prosecuting attorney; Kirk, a Clinton Township attorney; and Michael Bouchard, a Rochester Hills Army veteran.
The winner of their race will face the winner of a similarly crowded Democratic primary field in the November general election. James won the 10th District by about 5.5 percentage points in 2024 and less than 1 point in 2022, when it was the third-closest congressional race in the country.
Kirk and Bouchard also complained last month that Lulgjuraj misstated his residency on official campaign filings, though Board of Canvassers staff did not weigh in on those claims in their report. Lulgjuraj has said he lives in Sterling Heights, though recent property records show he holds a principal residence tax exemption on a home in Troy.
Lulgjuraj told The Detroit News in an interview that his father recently went through a divorce, so the candidate purchased the home and lived there with him to provide support. He added that he stopped living at that house in December 2024, that he is “not a CPA,” and that he will rely on an accountant and his legal team to advise him on any back taxes owed.
gschwab@detroitnews.com
@GrantSchwab
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lulgjuraj can stay on ballot in key GOP House race, state board says
Reporting by Grant Schwab, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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