Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell criticized a lawsuit brought by friend and fellow Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who is suing the commonwealth after he failed to qualify for the March 6 presidential primary.
Speaking Wednesday, McDonnell said he doesn’t support retroactively changing state rules just because Perry and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich didn’t meet Virginia’s ballot restrictions — 10,000 signatures from registered voters. McDonnell pointed out that in his 20 years of politics, “no credible candidate for statewide office in Virginia has ever had a problem making the ballot.”
“No question we’re among the strictest of the states, but if you want to be president of the United States, you ought to be able to collect 10,000 signatures in Virginia,” he said from Richmond, adding he twice met the threshold without issue.
McDonnell, however, said he expects the General Assembly to propose new ballot requirements and his administration will consider them.
In a motion filed last week, Perry conceded his campaign collected only about 6,000 signatures, although he initially claimed he submitted 12,000. Gingrich handed in more than 11,000 signatures, but he said 1,500 of those collected by a company hired by Gingrich’s campaign were fraudulent.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann didn’t bother handing in any petitions at all.
McDonnell served as vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association under Perry before the Texas governor left to run for president. McDonnell then took over for Perry as chairman.
On Wednesday, Gingrich, Santorum and Huntsman joined Perry’s lawsuit challenging Virginia’s ballot restrictions.
Noticeably absent from the lawsuit is Bachmann, who announced she was suspending her campaign after Tuesday night’s poor showing in the Iowa caucuses. Bachmann’s camp originally indicated it would sign on as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Like Perry, Gingrich, Santorum and Huntsman assert that Virginia’s ballot requirements are unduly burdensome and unconstitutional. The four are asking a federal judge to prevent the State Board of Elections from sending out ballots that include just former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.
State law requires the State Board of Elections to mail absentee ballots by Jan. 21, 45 days before the election, and officials have already began producing them.
On Tuesday, state Republican Party Chairman Pat Mullins, a defendant in the lawsuit, asked the court to dismiss the case.
