Politico is reporting that only four of the seven GOP candidates submitted enough signatures to get on the ballot in the Virginia GOP primary, which is slated for March.
The website says former Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. Ron Paul, and Gov. Rick Perry all had enough signatures and submitted them by the deadline today. But, it is reporting that Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Sen. Rick Santorum, and former Gov. Jon Huntsman didn’t get their signatures in on time.
This may or may not be significant. Unless Bachmann, Huntsman and/or Santorum surprise almost everyone and win in one of the early primary or caucus states, they will likely have already dropped out of the race by March. Bachmann and Santorum are pinning all hope on Iowa, where the evangelical arm of the GOP could give them a big boost. Huntsman is betting everything on New Hampshire, where the independent/moderate wing of the GOP could help him stage a surprise upset. All three are longshots.
More significant, is that Gingrich got on the ballot. He has emerged as the primary opponent to Mitt Romney and being on every ballot across the country is essential for him to compete. Earlier in the week, the New York Times and NBC reported that Gingrich’s cash poor campaign was running behind collecting enough signatures and might not make the deadline. That would have been a significant blow to his campaign if he has any hope to fighting Romney all the way to the Republican convention.
Posted by Jay Warren at 10:47 PM. Filed under: main •
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