Four GOP candidates for statewide office will not appear on the primary ballot due to a lack of signatures. Political unknown William Hudgins, who wanted to join Warrenton Mayor George Fitch and Ex-Attorney General Jerry Kilgore on the Republican primary ballot for governor, didn't even show up with his petitions. Nor did Kenneth Golden, who was running for Lt. Governor.
Here's where it gets interesting: The other two candidates would have easily gotten on the ballot if they hadn't waited until the last minute. Gil Davis' website says that in the afternoon of the day the petitions were due, his campaign discovered that they lacked sufficient signatures in two Congressional districts. Had this been discovered sooner, the required signatures probably would have been obtained.
Emmett Hanger delivered signatures from eight congressional districts with minutes to spare. However, the signatures from three other districts, which were in two different cars, arrived late due to traffic delays. Election workers stamped the petitions from one car - two Congressional districts' worth - as having arrived at 4:59 PM, just one minute before the 5:00 deadline. The last box arrived just after 5:00, and Hanger later signed a statement saying that he lacked the needed signatures.
In contrast, all six of the Democratic candidates filed their petitions with plenty of time to spare. The Republicans may claim to be the party of "sound leadership," but if they can't even manage their petitions, how can we expect them to run the state?