Projo Politics Blog

Christmas may not be a day of comfort and joy for dozens of campaign workers.

Political Scene has learned that just three presidential candidates had submitted enough signatures as of yesterday to qualify for Rhode Island’s primary ballot. The deadline for submitting 1,000 signatures is Wednesday, the day after Christmas, thanks to a recent law change that requires signatures be collected in the heart of the holiday season.

Republicans, who traditionally have a hard time rallying support in Rhode Island, are particularly fearful that several candidates won’t appear on the March 4 ballot due to lack of signatures.

“Based on our progress so far, we are very concerned that we will fail in this effort to get our 10 GOP candidates on the ballot,” Republican operative Dave Talan said in an e-mail to 5,500 GOP families late last week. “Candidates relying solely on R.I. volunteers are in trouble.”

The secretary of state’s office reported yesterday that only Democratic frontrunners Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have submitted the necessary signatures. On the Republican side, only Rudy Giuliani hit the 1,000 mark.

Where do the other key candidates stand?

Mitt Romney had submitted just 771; John McCain, 706; Ron Paul, 484; Mike Huckabee, 244, and Fred Thompson, 202. As for the Dems, John Edwards has submitted 416; Christopher Dodd, 254, and Dennis Kucinich, 199. Bill Richardson turned in just 15 signatures, while Joe Biden had yet to submit one.

--By Steve Peoples and Katherine Gregg

Journal State House bureau

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