Perry Campaign: Virginia Ruling "Disenfranchises" Voters
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A federal judge's decision not to allow Rick Perry and three other presidential candidates onto Virginia's GOP primary ballot "disenfranchises" the state's voters, Joe Nixon, the Texas governor's lead counsel, said Friday.
Nixon said the Perry campaign, which did not collect the requisite 10,000 signatures to get on Virginia's ballot, hasn't decided whether to appeal U.S. District Judge John Gibney's ruling. Such a decision could depend on Perry's performance in last-ditch South Carolina; the first southern-state primary is Jan. 21.
Perry's not the only one who didn't make the cut; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman also didn't qualify, and have filed suit.
"I commend Governor Perry for his courage and tenacity in pursuing the case," Nixon said in a statement, "and seeking to protect the rights of Virginia voters."
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