ESCANABA – Matt Morgan knows he has an uphill battle in his bid for Congress. His first hurdle is the August 7 Democratic primary election where his name is not even on the ballot. His petitions were thrown out because they did not include a street address.

There are no other candidates on the Democratic ticket. His petitions were thrown out after the filing deadline in Michigan.

He is confident he will receive the nomination as a write-in candidate but it is still a frustration he would rather not deal with.

“We still feel very strongly that it’s important that we move forward and work toward ending voter disenfranchisement and creating the maize of systems that helps to limit the opportunities that voters have to vote for the candidates they want to see in office,” he said.

Morgan said he has put a lot of miles on his vehicle as he covers the massive 1st Congressional District. The largest population within the district is in the Traverse City area, where he is from, so he is spending a lot of time campaigning in that area.

“But we get up here at least a third of our time in the U.P.,” Morgan said. “What’s really important is to get around, particularly in the primary, making sure people know who you are and what you stand for.”

Marquette has the second largest population in the district.

If he wins his write-in campaign, he will face Congressman Jack Bergman of Watersmeet.

As the U.S. gets ready for the mid-term elections in November, Morgan said he does not believe that elections this year will be secure.

He says Russia poses the most significant national security threat to the United States of any country in the world. He expects Russia to attempt to disrupt US elections this fall.

“When I was in the Pentagon, I never thought I’d see a point where they would actively engage and interfere in our elections. But, there is absolutely no question and it’s clear that our intelligence communities have the information they need to point conclusively that this is happening. They are gravely concerned that this is going to happen again here in 2018 in the mid-terms and most certainly in the 2020 elections,” Morgan said.

Morgan said the U.S. needs an active plan to combat cyber incursions. He says he was deeply troubled by President Trump’s remarks in Helsinki last week. He says Russia is working hard to undermine the United States.