Gingrich y Perry también se quedan fuera de la primaria de VA

Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has failed to qualify for Virginia's presidential primary, the Republican Party of Virginia announced early Saturday.

The state GOP announced at 2:40 a.m. that Gingrich, like Texas Gov. Rick Perry, had failed to amass the required 10,000 signatures of registered voters to qualify for the March 6 contest.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, certified earlier Friday by the state GOP, will be the only candidates on the ballot.

The stunning result means Gingrich — who lives in McLean, led among Virginia's GOP primary voters in the latest poll and is vying with Romney for national front-runner status — will not get a chance to compete with Romney in the state's primary.

Virginia is one of 11 states holding a primary or a caucus March 6, Super Tuesday.

Aunque hay confusión sobre las normas estatales que son aplicables a la elección general y las que son para la primaria, al parecer en Virginia no se permite lanzar una candidatura por inserción escrita. Así que, salvo que se les otorgue una prórroga a los candidatos que han quedado fuera por poco, en Virginia sólo competirán Romney y Paul.