Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: Republican Rep. Thad McCotter resigns

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' MI-11: Goodbye, Thaddeus McCotter. The Republican congressman called it quits in a late Friday news dump:

Today I have resigned from the office of United States Representative for Michigan's 11th Congressional District.

After nearly 26 years in elected office, this past nightmarish month and a half have, for the first time, severed the necessary harmony between the needs of my constituency and of my family. As this harmony is required to serve, its absence requires I leave.

McCotter also assailed recent "calumnies, indignities, and deceits" in his statement, suggesting that he is planning to exit as Thad the Victim.

For those unaware of those recent events, McCotter's downfall began with a bizarre and quixotic bid for the White House, which was essentially over before it began.

Then, in a shocking and humiliating turn of events, his attempt to land softly back in his freshly gerrymandered House seat fell apart when he failed to secure enough valid signatures to qualify for the August primary ballot. What was an embarrassment became a matter for the courts when allegations of fraud popped up in his ballot petitions. McCotter briefly pondered a write-in bid for his seat, before deciding early last month to abandon that effort.

Then came the almost comical revelation just a day earlier that McCotter had, with his presidential campaign in tatters, turned his attention not to his work as a U.S. Representative, but rather to penning a script for an TV sitcom/variety show starring himself and featuring offensive fratboy "humor." This last revelation, apparently, was the final straw.

McCotter's 11th district, made redder thanks to Republican efforts during redistricting, was already an open seat due to McCotter's failure to qualify for the ballot and subsequent decision to drop his write-in effort. It's unclear if a special election will be necessitated by McCotter's resignation, given that we are now just four months away from the general election. It's possible that a special could be consolidated with the November general election, which would mean the winner would serve only the final two months of McCotter's term.

Meanwhile, the regularly-scheduled primary is fast approaching next month. The local GOP establishment has rallied around the write-in candidacy of former state Sen. Nancy Cassis, since tea party devotee Kerry Bentivolio is the only Republican actually on the ballot and no one seems to think very highly of him. Physician Syed Taj is considered the frontrunner on the Democratic side. McCotter's abrupt resignation doesn't directly impact this race, but it certainly doesn't make Republicans look any better. But at this point, they're probably happy to have him gone'and it's not like Democrats are going to miss him, either. (Steve Singiser, with David Nir)