Counting On star Jedidiah Duggar recently made a big announcement: He has decided to run for public office. The Duggar son surprised everyone when he joined Instagram, and people initially speculated that it was for another reason. But now that he’s announced his campaign, some are very happy for him — but others are suggesting there is one thing about it that Duggar didn’t get right.

Many thought Duggar joined Instagram because he was courting

When Duggar surprised everyone and joined Instagram in October, people thought it could only mean one thing: He must be courting. In the past, Duggars have joined the social media app when they’re getting ready to take that next step in their lives. This was also the speculation with Jana Duggar, though it has been made clear that she is not in a courtship despite joining Instagram back in January 2019. There have also been rumors that the Duggars want Jedidiah Duggar to start courting the younger sister of Kendra Caldwell, so it makes sense that fans were certain he was preparing to walk down the aisle.

He recently announced he’s running for public office

Rather than entering a courtship, Duggar has entered something far different: a political race. Duggar announced via Instagram on November 3 that he is actually running for political office in Arkansas. According to the announcement, Duggar is running for Arkansas state representative of District 89 in Springdale. “I’m a conservative. Pro-Life. Pro Second Amendment. Pro Religious Liberty,” part of his Instagram caption read. Duggar mentioned that he wants to focus on combating the opioid crisis, lowering taxes, and building a strong economy through more job growth.

Fans think he made a mistake and is running for office in the wrong district

Though some were very supportive of Duggar, others had harsh words about his views. However, regardless of how people saw his campaign from a political spectrum perspective, one issue seemed to be common among his followers: People were concerned that Duggar had registered to run for the wrong district. “How can you run for the 89th district when you live in the 87th district?” someone asked. “You don’t live in the district so this is an illegal filing of intent to run for office,” someone else added. “You’re supposed to live in the district you’re running in. Explain?” another user wrote. It seems many people had the same concerns that Duggar was illegally running in a district where he does not live.

Fans suspect Duggar owns property in District 89  

Though Duggar hasn’t publicly addressed which district he lives in, some think there may be a loophole; it’s suspected that Duggar bought property in District 89, which would enable him to run there. In the comments section of some of Duggar’s political posts, people suspected that he had registered to run with an address listed in Springdale rather than the Duggars’ hometown of Tontitown. This seems feasible, since Jim Bob Duggar made his money in real estate and might have purchased a second property in his son’s name, which would enable Jedidiah Duggar to run in that district. Either way, Duggar would not have been legally allowed to file if he couldn’t provide proof of address, so it’s safe to say there likely is some kind of property ownership in District 89. 

Right now, it’s unclear where this campaign will take Duggar, as it’s just getting started. However, his father tried unsuccessfully to run for office in Arkansas several years back, so some fans are hoping things turn out better for Jim Bob’s son.