Free Republic

The Republican presidential hopeful who came in last at the Iowa “Straw Poll” here said to consider his appearance at Ames “a debut” and to keep an eye on his longest-shot candidacy for 2012. “We got invites to speak to party organizations in four different counties,” five-term Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich) told HUMAN EVENTS, shortly after he drew 35 votes in the straw poll won by Michele Bachmann, “So look at it as an introduction, a debut. We’ll build a campaign as we go on.” McCotter spoke to us after he had addressed what he called “the biggest audience I...

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., a five-term congressman who isn't well known on the national stage, is mulling a possible presidential run. "A decision hasn't been made, but it will be made soon.... I’m not going to put a timeline on it," he told the Daily Caller. McCotter has been working his way into the inner circle of the Republican leadership since his early support of John Boehner, R-Ohio, for majority leader in 2006. As Cook Political Report's David Wasserman writes, McCotter has few options if he wants to continue to climb: "Republicans haven't broken through at the Senate level in...

U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan says he's giving serious consideration to making a run for the Republican nomination for president. The fifth-term congressman from Livonia said Wednesday during an interview on WJR-AM in Detroit the job is attractive because it would allow him to shape the debate in Washington. But he says the ultimate decision will be made in consultation with his wife, Rita, a registered nurse, and their three kids. Politico reported a day earlier that McCotter would make his decision within the next two weeks. McCotter also has been linked with a possible run for the U.S....