Thread: Newt Gingrich Fails To Qualify For Virginia GOP Primary

Newt Gingrich Fails To Qualify For Virginia GOP Primary Despite Residency [UPDATED]



First Posted: 12/24/11 08:32 AM ET Updated: 12/24/11 10:01 AM ET

WASHINGTON - The Republican Party of Virginia announced early Saturday that GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich failed to amass the 10,000 signatures needed in order to secure a place on the ballot in the party's March 6th primary election. Gingrich isn't the first Republican presidential candidate who failed to qualify for the "Super Tuesday" primary contest - on Friday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry also failed to make the cut for the same reason. Rival candidates Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) qualified for the primary. On the Democratic side, President Barack Obama qualified earlier this year.

The failure is a particularly tough blow to Gingrich, who is a Virginia resident, having lived in the Washington suburb of McLean, Va. for more than a decade. Gingrich said earlier this week that he had reached the 10,000 signatures needed to appear on the ballot, but after a review of his 11,050 signatures, the Republican Party of Virginia announced in a tweet early Saturday that Gingrich "did not submit required 10k signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary."
A spokesman for Gingrich had yet to respond to an email early Saturday morning from The Huffington Post, but a Perry spokesman told NBC that their campaign would "closely review the facts and law to determine whether an appeal or challenge is warranted."
UPDATE [10:01 a.m. ET] - Early Saturday, Gingrich's campaign released the following statement from Campaign Director Michael Krull:

"Only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot. Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates. We will work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign to make sure that all the voters of Virginia are able to vote for the candidate of their choice."

Video at the link

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1...n_1168634.html