Mike Duggan: I only blame myself

Duggan ruled off Detroit mayoral ballot for disputed City Charter violation

DETROIT – Stung by two court rulings disqualifying him from the ballot, Detroit mayoral candidate Mike Duggan has thrown in the towel.

Duggan said he won't appeal to the Supreme Court and will not run as a write-in candidate.

Read more: Mike Duggan: There's no viable path forward to win

"Once you've had two court rulings, it so impaired the campaign, it would have been difficult to come back from," said Duggan.

Duggan filed his nominating signatures on April 2, less than a year after he moved into Detroit. Had he waited until the filing deadline in May, no residency issue would have emerged.

"I only blame myself," said Duggan, who stood next to his wife Lori. "I should not have given them any chance to twist it in a way to take it off the ballot. I should have held the petitions two weeks longer."

Duggan says he will remain in Detroit and will probably endorse another candidate.

Duggan and Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon had been at the top of the polls. Napoleon's spokesman Jamaine Dickens said the Duggan decision "will not affect anything we do."

Candidate Tom Barrow, who fought to remove Duggan from the ballot, did not return a call from Local 4.