(Newser)
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Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Jon Huntsman won't be on Virginia's primary ballot, a federal judge ruled today. The four had sued over the state's stringent rules on qualifying—specifically that state residents must collect the 10,000 necessary signatures—but the judge said no dice, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "In essence, they played the game, lost, and then complained that the rules were unfair," wrote Judge John A. Gibney.
The decision means that Mitt Romney and Ron Paul will be the only main contenders on the ballot. Also today in Perry news:
- Mannequin: Reports are circulating that Perry accidentally called on a mannequin during a campaign stop. Alas, it's not true, reports Mediaite. Perry was joking.
- Another oops? Reports also are circulating that Perry again messed up the three departments he would cut as president. That one kind of is true, notes Reuters. Or at least, his answer changed. Now it's commerce, interior, and energy. It had been commerce, education, and energy.
