Posted on 12/24/2011 1:01:00 PM PST by Steelfish
Gingrich’s Ballot Miss Could Shake Voters’ Confidence
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE December 24, 2011
Newt Gingrich declared confidently the other day that he would get his name on the ballot for the Republican presidential primary in Virginia. In fact, he said he already had the requisite 10,000 signatures and an additional 2,000 to 3,000 for safety’s sake and would probably collect even more. Related
But that turned out not to be the case. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the Virginia Republican Party announced via Twitter that Mr. Gingrich had failed to submit enough signatures by the Thursday deadline, highlighting the organizational challenges to his campaign and raising questions about his prospects in a drawn-out nominating fight.
Many of the Gingrich campaign’s signatures were apparently invalid, which is why most campaigns try to collect almost twice as many as needed. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota also failed to make the grade.
The Gingrich campaign said it would work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue a write-in campaign, but Virginia does not allow write-in names in its primaries.
“Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates,” Michael Krull, Mr. Gingrich’s campaign director, said in a statement.
This misstep is bad news for Mr. Gingrich on several levels. Virginia is his adopted home state. Failing to gather enough signatures in your own backyard creates an image problem, at the very least.
“It’s a disaster for him,” said Larry J. Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia. “This sends yet another signal to Republicans that Gingrich is not able to organize.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sabato can suck on a lemon and the NYT is behind the times: NOT accurate and not updated.
Sue the State.
Without question, a huge embarrassment for Gingrich and Perry.
What state do you want to sue?
I don’t see how the RPV thinks we can have a primary with just Romney and Paul. Who is going to show up to cast a ballot?
It’s likely to make voters angry at the Romney/Rove establishment for robbing them.
Get out your plastic hair hats and tin foil hats we’re gonna have a party.....................that no one shows up for
Not a Gingrich fan, but these rules are idiotic. It’s just a stupid primary
It’s a disaster for the Republican party, for Virginia and for our constitutional republic. Now, it may be that Gingrich is not all that popular among the fat-assed RINO ruling class and kingmakers, but the national and Virginia polls prove that he’s very popular among the conservative base and the tea party. I’m hoping that enough people rise up against these corrupt shenanigans to get our LEADING Republican candidates on the ballot in all 57 states!!
This will turn into a public relations disaster for Myth.
This will turn into a public relations disaster for Myth.
No one was robbed.
As I understand it, all prospective candidates knew the Virginia rule and knew what they had to do.
The Virginia GOP in the bag for Rino Romney?
This whole thing doesn’t pass the smell test. In think in the end it will be a big embarrassment for Mitt Romney.
The Paulistinians.
Gingrich can survive this.
The VA ballot issue hurts Perry, Santorum, Bachmann more...because they do not have many chances at winning in other states....Gingrich still can
Thanks, I’m wih you on this.
I’ve just about given up on Gingrich. I’m not sure he’s that much more conservative than Romney, and he doesn’t seem much more electable than Bachmann or Ron Paul.
seriously, go away.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.