A handful of high-profile candidates for several local elections in Michigan have been nixed from the ballot ahead of the August primary because of noncompliance with state campaign finance laws, the secretary of state’s office announced Tuesday.

The state disqualified 11 candidates (four Democrats, five Republicans, and two nonpartisan judges) after they had reportedly submitted false statements regarding how they handled their campaign finances, including one candidate who is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and another who has received Trump’s coveted endorsement.

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"The 11 candidates all had outstanding campaign finance reports or unpaid fines at the time they signed the affidavit of identity," the Michigan Secretary of State Office said in a statement. "Some of the candidates paid fines after signing their affidavit of identity, or subsequently paid their fines, then withdrew their affidavits of identity and filed new affidavits of identity. Regardless of steps the candidates took after submitting affidavits of identity with false statements, the Department is prohibited by the Michigan Election Law from certifying the candidates’ names to the ballots for this election because they executed an affidavit of identity containing a false statement."

One of the most high-profile candidates to be removed from the ballot is Republican Melissa Carone, who was vying for a seat in the state Senate. Carone was previously disqualified from running for a state House seat in April due to a similar problem with noncompliance with campaign finance laws, according to Detroit News. 


Carone had first risen to notoriety after she appeared as a star witness in a Michigan election fraud hearing in December 2020, which led to a parody performance on Saturday Night Live. She is one of several supporters of theories from Trump that the 2020 election was stolen due to widespread fraud, a claim that has since been disproven through several audits and recounts.

Also nixed from consideration is Republican Jon Rocha, a Trump-endorsed candidate running for the state House. Although it's unusual for a former president to endorse a candidate so far down the ballot, Rocha had centered his campaign on election integrity and investigating the 2020 election — something Trump prioritized when choosing who to throw his support behind.

Other notable candidates include Republican Eddie Kabacinski, a Warren, Michigan, city councilman who had been censured by the council in 2021 for refusing to wear a mask and objecting to identify himself as a local lawmaker to law enforcement. Kabacinski was seeking to be elected to the state House.

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Detroit Judge Kahlilia Davis, an incumbent seeking reelection, was also removed. Davis had previously been accused of abusing her ability to hold others in contempt of court, as well as improperly recording others and publishing the files online, according to local outlets. 

The Michigan primary election is set to take place on Aug. 2.