Former congressman Virgil Goode has taken a key step toward getting his name on November’s presidential ballot in Virginia, submitting more than 14,000 signatures to the State Board of Elections.
To make the Virginia ballot, Goode needs to submit 10,000 valid signatures — with a minimum of 400 from each congressional district. Though he has already surpassed that number, Goode knows at least some of the signatures will be ruled invalid, so he hopes to turn in at least 20,000 before the August 24 deadline.
Public Policy Polling has released a new poll in the state of Virginia including native Virgil Goode. Goode garnered 9%. Back in May he polled 5%.
Goode is running on the Constitution Party line. He is on the ballot in at least 17 states so far, and some Republicans worry he could take votes away from Mitt Romney if he makes the Virginia ballot.
With him in the picture Obama’s lead pushes out to 14 points at 49-35. It’s highly unlikely Goode would get 9% in the end but he certainly could make a difference if Virginia ended up being more like a 1-2 pt race.
Goode is getting assistance from yet another party, the Independent Greens, whose members have collected thousands of signatures for him. Goode estimated Friday that between one-quarter and one-third of the 14,375 signatures he’d submitted came from the Independent Greens.
The Independent Greens don’t look like a natural partner for Goode, whose conservative-leaning campaign has emphasized curbing legal and illegal immigration as well as fiscal discipline. But they do agree on one key issue.
“Virgil supports rail, and that’s our big issue and he’s with us on that,” said Carey Campbell, a member of the Independent Greens executive committee. “We’ve had for many years a good relationship with the Constitution Party folks.”
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