Joanna Whaley was on the phone with a member of her campaign team when she received an email from the county clerk’s office saying that her candidacy was being challenged.
Frank Liberati, a fellow Democratic candidate for Michigan state representative, had filed a complaint against Whaley, a transgender woman, alleging that she had made a “false statement” and skirted state election law because she did not list her birth name when she filed to run for office.
“I thought it was spam,” Whaley told HuffPost. “But I opened it and saw it was an actual legal document. I expected this from Republicans, but not from my primary candidates in the Democratic Party.”
Whaley, 38, is running in Michigan’s crowded primary race for state representative in the 2nd House District in Downriver, a Detroit suburb. If elected, Whaley would become one of the first trans state legislators in Michigan.
Whaley, who finished legally changing her name last year, is now fighting to stay on the ballot. Last week, she filed a response to Liberati’s complaint with the Wayne County Clerk’s office, arguing that she should be allowed to remain on the ballot. The complaint is still pending.
