US presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry stumbled in their White House quest by failing to qualify for Virginia's 2012 Republican primary, the state party reported.
It could prove an especially serious political setback for Gingrich, a front-runner in the Republican race to challenge President Barack Obama next year, because it exposes an organizational weakness of his campaign 10 days before the first-in-the-nation nominating contest in Iowa.
"After verification, (the party) has determined that Newt Gingrich did not submit the required 10,000 signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary," the Republican Party of Virginia said in a Twitter message.
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It had previously tweeted that Perry, the governor of Texas, would also not qualify.
The Republican primary is scheduled for March 6 in Virginia, a key swing state in the November election pitting the Republican nominee against Obama.
According to The Washington Post, the Perry campaign told state election officials it had submitted 11,911 signatures, while the Gingrich campaign said it had provided 11,050 signatures.
But state party officials contested the claim, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Saturday that former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney -- widely seen as Gingrich's chief rival -- and Texas congressman Ron Paul will be the only candidates appearing on the ballot.
"Only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot," Gingrich's campaign manager Michael Krull said in a statement reported on the Politico website.
"Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates."
The rejection was a blow to Gingrich, who has been leading the polls in Virginia.
"For Gingrich it's a disaster," Larry Sabato, head of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told the Times-Dispatch.
"He was the Virginia front-runner. It also sends a message to voters in Iowa and New Hampshire that his campaign isn't serious."
Romney -- for months the on-again, off-again favorite in national polls -- had appeared to slip behind Gingrich in recent weeks in Iowa, but a poll by Rasmussen Reports on Wednesday showed Romney regaining momentum.
It showed Romney with 25 percent support, followed by small-government champion Ron Paul at 20 percent and Gingrich at 17 percent, with the remainder of the candidates at 10 percent or less.
But another poll released the same day by Iowa State University had Paul in front with 27 percent, Gingrich with 25 percent and Romney with 17 percent.
