McCotter to run for Congress instead of president

While U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter’s run for presidency may have been short-lived, his Republican brethren still have his back.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions recently released a statement regarding McCotter’s decision to end his presidential race and run for re-election in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District.
“McCotter has been a thoughtful, conservative leader in Congress for over eight years, and I am very pleased that he has chosen to run for re-election in 2012 to continue representing hard-working Michigan families,” reads the statement. “Thad is a dedicated public servant who is unafraid to stand up for American exceptionalism and individual opportunity and prosperity through the free enterprise system.
“Building on his leadership as a former Republican Policy Committee Chair and presidential candidate, Thad will continue to be an important voice in our Republican Conference for job-creating solutions that will restore our economy and keep the American dream alive,” the statement continues. “I join House Republicans in welcoming Thad’s continued service in Congress and look forward to working with him for many years to come.”
However, McCotter will have some competition to even keep his seat. State Sen. Mike Kowall formally announced Saturday he will challenge McCotter for his seat in the U.S. Congress.The Livonia native’s presidency run started out rocking (not in a political sense) in July, but quickly declined after being shut out of several debates and unable to crack two percent in the national polls.


McCotter now supports Romney, just a few months after saying that Romney and President Barack Obama are “less rivals than running mates.”


McCotter said Romney “has the business credentials to do the job.” He also cited Romney's Michigan and Midwestern roots that will give him an understanding of the issues facing the region.


“He also won't be doing some of the things that he did as governor of Massachusetts,” McCotter said. Romney has been criticized by some conservatives, including McCotter, for his health care plan enacted while he was governor of Massachusetts.


Romney currently appears to be a front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, along with Texas Gov. Rick Perry.


McCotter expressed disappointment that the candidates did not discuss Social Security reform, only what it should be called. (Perry called it a Ponzi scheme.)


McCotter introduced a bill on reforming Social Security, which called for personal savings accounts and cuts in other programs to continue the program and keep it solvent. “Nobody seemed to notice,” McCotter said of the other candidates.


McCotter announced Thursday that he will seek re-election, pushing his platform of “principled conservatism.”


“I've got a job to do,” McCotter said. “We need to restructure government, reform of Social Security. Communist China is a strategic threat, and we have housing issues.


“We're still a country at war. We have numerous issues, and we have a primary responsibility to the men and women who serve this country.