Detmer Refuses To Concede, Alleging "Inconsistencies" In Absentee Ballots
August 6, 2020
By Jon King / jking@whmi.com
One of the three candidates who failed to win the GOP nomination for the 8Th District Congressional race says he refuses to concede, while some supporters are urging him to wage a write-in campaign.
Mike Detmer of Howell came in second in Tuesday’s primary balloting behind Paul Junge of Brighton. According to preliminary results from the Michigan Secretary of State, Junge got 30,475 votes, or just over 35% of the vote, while Detmer polled 24,796 ballots, or just over 28.5%. Despite Junge claiming victory and the Associated Press calling the race for Junge, Detmer posted on his campaign Facebook page Wednesday night he was not conceding defeat due to the possibility of what he referred to as “inconsistencies with the mail-in ballot count” in the 8th district and other districts in Michigan.
Attention voters:
Posted by Mike Detmer for Congress 2020 on Wednesday, August 5, 2020
It has come to light that there may possibility be some inconsistencies with the mail-in ballot count...
When asked by WHMI to specify the issues, he responded by saying it had been brought to his attention by two of his primary challengers “some voters and a few other candidates from other districts across the state that there may be an issue with mail-in ballots not being counted or received.” However, he acknowledged he had no proof and insisted he wasn’t suggesting that it was in fact true. Despite that, he said his campaign had not ruled out legal action. On Facebook, his campaign manager Cindi Holland thanked voters for their support, adding. “…we are not going away, stay tuned.”
When asked about the issues Detmer is alleging, Livingston County Clerk Elizabeth Hundley responded by saying that Livingston County had nearly 82% of absentee ballots that were issued returned to local clerks before 8pm on Election Day, which she said was within the normal range for a primary election, adding that it was “common for a voter to request a primary ballot, receive it, and decide for whatever reason they are not voting in the primary.” Hundley says the Board of Canvassers is currently working to certify the results and encouraged Detmer, or anyone else who was interested, to attend and observe the process as it was open to the public.
Detmer tells WHMI that he wants to make sure that “vote integrity is protected” and that if the results were certified, his focus would be to “help other grassroots Conservative candidates win their general election races and make sure President Trump is reelected.”