(WXYZ) — Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig will run as a write-in candidate in the Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary, he told 7 Action News on Friday.
It comes after he was one of five candidates to be left off the August primary ballot due to fraudulent signatures that left him short of the minimum amount.
"This is certainly not the path I was looking to go down in terms of a write-in campaign. But I've heard from a number of folks across the state, text messaging, email, you name it, and they said, 'chief, we need you to fight,'" he said.
Four other candidates were also left off the ballot due to the fraudulent signatures that were turned in by paid circulators.
The Michigan Supreme Court upheld the disqualification of the candidates last week, but one candidate, Perry Johnson, has now gone to federal court to try and get on the ballot.
Five other candidates remain on the ballot: Tudor Dixon, Kevin Rinke, Ryan Kelley, Garrett Soldano and Ralph Rebandt. The winner will take on incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Kelley was arrested on Thursday and charged with misdemeanors for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
