Michigan Republican Rep. Thad McCotter abruptly resigns from the House amid new revelations

Former Rep. Thad McCotter (R-MI) For those awaiting the final act in what has been a strikingly swift political fall from grace, here ya go:

Capping a very rough month of bad publicity stemming from his failure to make the ballot after nominating petition snafu, Michigan GOP Rep. Thad McCotter announced his resignation Friday afternoon.

From his statement:

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.

He also assails recent "calumnies, indignities, and deceits" in his statement, hinting that he is planning to exit as Thad the Victim.

For those unaware of those recent events, it began with his 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 gerrymandered House seat failed 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 last month to abandon that effort.

Then came the almost comical revelation just yesterday that McCotter had, his presidential campaign in tatters, turned his attention not to his work as a U.S. Representative, but rather to penning a TV sitcom/variety show starring himself. This last revelation, apparently, was the final straw.

McCotter's 11th district, made more Republican by the GOP-led gerrymandering of the state last year, was already an open seat due to McCotter's failure to qualify for the ballot. It is unclear yet if a special election will be necessitated by McCotter's resignation, given that we are now just four months away from the general election. The primary for this seat is next month, with Republicans seeking to boost the write-in candidacy of former state senator Nancy Cassis, since tea party devotee Kerry Bentvolio is the only Republican actually on the ballot. Syed Taj is considered the frontrunner on the Democratic side.