Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the Virginia primary ballot, state GOP officials said Friday evening.

Perry’s campaign told state election officials that 11,911 signatures were provided, but a Republican familiar with the situation said that Perry did not submit the required 10,000.

Earlier Friday, the Republican Party of Virginia certified former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas to appear on the March 6 primary ballot.

Four candidates — Romney, Perry, Paul and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — turned in thousands of signatures by the deadline Thursday.

State party officials were spending Friday certifying the signatures. They expected to examine Gingrich’s signatures by late Friday night. His campaign said it submitted 11,050 signatures.

Jerry Kilgore, former state attorney general and chairman of Perry’s campaign in Virginia, said Friday night that he was disappointed that the Texas governor didn’t reach the required number of signatures. But, he said, qualifying for the Virginia ballot is a “daunting task.”

“Hopefully he will do better in other states,” he said.

Candidates had to collect 10,000 signatures from across the state, including 400 from each of the 11 congressional districts.

Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum did not submit signatures, according to state GOP officials.

 

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