There will be two — and only two — candidates on Virginia’s Republican presidential primary ballot in March, the result of a judge’s ruling this afternoon. The federal judge has refused to add Texas Gov. Rick Perry and three other candidates to the ballot. We have the latest from WFIR’s Evan Jones.
[audio:http://wfirnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/01-13-Ballot-Lawsuit-Voicer-WEB.mp3|titles=01-13 Ballot Lawsuit Voicer-WEB] RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A federal judge has refused to add Texas Gov. Rick Perry and three other candidates to Virginia’s Republican presidential primary ballot.
U.S. District Judge John Gibney ruled Friday that the candidates should have challenged Virginia’s primary qualifying rules earlier. Gibney said they knew the rules months ago.
Perry sued last month after failing to submit enough signatures to get on the ballot. Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman also failed to qualify and later joined Perry’s lawsuit. They asked Gibney to declare Virginia’s law unconstitutional and add their names to the March 6 ballot.
Only former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul qualified for the March 6 primary ballot.
