Gilmore, Pataki Miss Filing Deadline for Texas Primary

Two bottom-tier Republican presidential candidates have missed the filing deadline for the Texas primary. 

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore and former New York Gov. George Pataki did not submit the necessary paperwork to get on the ballot for the March 1 nominating contest. They had until 6 p.m. Monday to do so. 

A dozen major GOP hopefuls met the deadline, according to the state party. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was the first to file, and U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania was the last. 

Both Gilmore and Pataki are barely registering in the polls and have missed ballot deadlines in a number of other states. Representatives for the two hopefuls did not respond to requests for comment earlier Monday on whether they planned to file for the Texas primary. 

On the Democratic side, state records show all three serious candidates have filed for the Texas primary: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. 

The 12 major GOP candidates who made it on the ballot for the Texas primary are Bush, Ben Carson, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham and Santorum. 

Getting on the ballot for the Texas primary was relatively easy. Republican candidates had to pay a $5,000 filing fee or turn in 300 signatures from registered voters in each of 15 of Texas' 36 congressional districts. Democratic hopefuls, meanwhile, had to submit a $2,500 check or gather 5,000 signatures. 

Throughout the filing period, which began Nov. 14, some candidates made more of a show of getting on the ballot than others. The campaigns of at least two GOP contenders, Cruz and Rand Paul of Kentucky, dispatched staff and surrogates to Austin to rally supporters at the Texas GOP headquarters.

Among the Democratic hopefuls, Sanders' backers rallied outside the state Capitol as others dropped off their signatures at the nearby state party headquarters. At the time, Sanders' campaign boasted that he was the only Democratic candidate to go the signature route to get on the ballot.