Virgil Goode stays on the ballot in Virgina

Chris

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May 30, 2008
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli crossed his own Republican Party on Friday in ruling that conservative former U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, a potential spoiler in Virginia to Mitt Romney's presidential bid, can stay on the state's presidential ballot from the Constitution Party.

Goode, who served in the Virginia Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat, an independent and then a Republican, is a candidate for president on the right-of-the-GOP Constitution Party ticket.

Earlier this month, the Republican Party of Virginia hired one of the state's most influential law and lobbying firms, McGuireWoods, in an effort to quietly persuade the State Board of Elections to bounce Goode from the ballot in the closely watched swing state.

"I'm happy that he made the decision that he did. It was the right thing to do," Goode said Friday in a telephone interview. "We got more than 20,000 signatures and any time you turn in that many signatures there are going to be some problems, but to try to keep me off the ballot?"

Virginia requires the signatures of at least 10,000 registered Virginia voters with a minimum of 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts.

Goode said he suspects the party's challenge was done at the instigation of the Romney campaign, fearful that Goode's votes will come from conservatives who otherwise would support Romney. There was no immediate reply Friday to telephone messages and emails seeking comment from Romney campaign officials in Virginia.

PilotOnline.com: Virginia and Local news for Hampton Roads, Va., from The Virginian-Pilot
 

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