June 30, 2011
Thaddeus McCotter will file paperwork on Friday to become the eighth Republican candidate for president, a McCotter adviser told POLITICO.
McCotter spent four days in Iowa this week and came away “feeling positive” about his reception, the adviser said. His presidential campaign website will go live around noon tomorrow, allowing the four-term Michigan congressman to kick off his long-shot bid on the first day of the new fundraising quarter.
His presidential committee, dubbed McCotter 2012, will start out with funds in the six figures, according to the source. The campaign will not have to file a full fundraising report until the fall. McCotter had nearly half a million dollars in his House campaign account at the end of March.
The source said that former Iowa House Speaker Chris Rants will serve as McCotter’s senior adviser in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
Rants, who endorsed Mitt Romney early in the 2008 cycle, confirmed that he spent the week introducing McCotter to Iowans and the state of the race.
“Should he decide to run, I will be on board to help him navigate the Hawkeye state,” Rants said.
McCotter’s entry into the race is not a surprise: He recently spent $18,000 to purchase a desirable spot at the Ames straw poll this August. He told Radio Iowa on his visit to the state this week that he sensed little “ardor” among Republicans for the current presidential field.
Even before formally launching his presidential bid, McCotter has not shyed from firing shots at those already in the presidential race. When frontrunner Mitt Romney visited Michigan earlier this month, McCotter declared that “struggling families, entrepreneurs and workers can’t afford policies that make Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama less than rivals, and more like running mates.”
In an interview with POLITICO last month, McCotter previewed some of the themes of a potential presidential run: “The challenge of globalization, the war for freedom against terrorists, the rise of Communist China and whether moral relativism erodes a nation built on self-evident truth.”
McCotter is little known to Republicans nationally, but has a strong following among the conservative media in-crowd. Andrew Breitbart gushed about a potential McCotter candidacy to POLITICO in May, calling him “blunt, sarcastic, pop-culture-savvy, constitutionally sound and an authentic voice.”
McCotter, 45, will be the third sitting member of Congress to get into the 2012 race, joining Reps. Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann. He’s the former head of the Policy Committee, a GOP leadership position he yielded last year after trying to eliminate it in an effort to save taxpayer money.
A frequent guest on Fox’s late night show “Red Eye” and Dennis Miller’s radio program, McCotter is a frequent Twitter user who has said he believes emerging media tools could allow a candidate with less name recognition and personal wealth to be competitive in a national contest.
Thaddeus McCotter
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