Newt Gingrich won’t appear on Missouri primary ballot

By Holly Bailey
Senior Political Reporter

Newt Gingrich may be inching up in the polls, but he won't be on the ballot in Missouri's Republican presidential primary in February.

The former House speaker failed to qualify for the state's Feb. 7 ballot, according to the Missouri Secretary of State's office. Candidates looking to appear on the ballot were required to pay a $1,000 entry fee and file paperwork by Tuesday at 5 pm.

Ten candidates, including Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson and Herman Cain, qualified for the ballot.

But that doesn't mean Gingrich won't be able to compete in Missouri. The state's Feb. 7 contest is technically non-binding since the Missouri Republican Party has opted to award its 2012 delegates via party caucuses in March.

But the vote is considered influential, since it will be GOP voters' first chance to register their feelings about the Republican presidential field in the state and potentially influence the party caucuses. The contest also comes at what could be the height of the Republican nomination fight—coming shortly after the Jan. 31 Florida primary and the Feb. 4 Nevada caucus, and ahead of the Feb. 28 primaries sponsored by Arizona and Michigan.

If there is no clear frontrunner for the nomination by then, Missouri's vote—even if it is unofficial—could be a way for a candidate to maintain momentum heading into votes later that month and then onto the Super Tuesday contests set for Mar. 6.

It's unclear why Gingrich missed the deadline. A spokesman for the former House speaker did not respond to a request for comment. (UPDATE: A spokesman tells Politico's Juana Summers the campaign saw no point in spending $1,000 to file for a ballot that doesn't award delegates.)

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