Gingrich, Perry Fail to Make Virginia Ballot

RICHMOND, Va. (TheStreet) -- Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry will not appear on the Virginia primary ballot.

Both candidates failed to submit sufficient valid signatures, according to Twitter posts by the Virginia Republican Party.

The news is a significant setback for the campaigns of the former House speaker and the Texas governor. Virginia will have a total of 49 delegates, ranking it 14th among U.S. states and territories, according to TheGreenPapers.com.

The state holds its Republican primary on March 6, so-called "Super Tuesday." Nine other states have caucuses or primaries that day.

Newt Gingrich

Gingrich's campaign said it had submitted 11,050 signatures, and Perry's campaign told Virginia election officials it had submitted 11,911, according to The Washington Post.

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But in a Twitter post early Saturday, the Virginia Republican Party said that after verification it had determined that Gingrich had not submitted the required 10,000 signatures.

A similar post Friday evening said Perry had failed to reach the 10,000-signature threshold.

Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have both submitted sufficient valid signatures to be on the ballot, according to earlier Twitter posts by the state party.

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