Chris Christie might not be on the Republican primary ballot in Maine. The former governor of New Jersey didn’t get enough signatures from Maine voters to qualify, according to state officials.
Maine’s Director of Elections, Heidi M. Peckham, explained in a letter that Christie’s campaign only had “844 names certified by municipal registrars.” They needed at least 2,000 certified signatures to be eligible for the state’s Republican presidential primary. Candidates had to first get their signatures certified by municipal clerks before submitting them to the Secretary of State’s office.
Christie has five days to appeal this decision in Maine Superior Court. A spokesperson for Christie’s campaign said they collected and submitted over 6,000 signatures, and this is just a procedural issue in how the signatures were reviewed.
If Christie doesn’t make it on the ballot, the Republican candidates on the GOP primary ballot will include former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and pastor Ryan Binkley.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and President Biden will be on their party’s primary ballot.
The primary elections are scheduled for March 5, 2024, known as Super Tuesday, with the most state primaries or caucuses happening on a single day.
This will be Maine’s first presidential primary election under a new semi-open primary law. It allows voters with no party affiliation to vote in any party’s primary. However, if someone is registered with a specific party and wants to vote in another party’s primary, they need to change their party affiliation 15 days before voting.
Unenrolled voters, those without a party affiliation, make up a significant portion of Maine’s registered voters. In 2022, they accounted for over 28% of registered voters.
Chris Christie has been focusing on winning in New Hampshire, where there’s also a large independent voting block. His strategy aims to appeal to independents, thinking that winning in New Hampshire is crucial to his nomination path. The campaign manager outlined a plan to donors, suggesting that if Christie establishes himself as the clear alternative to Trump, he could win delegates in states where independents can participate, even if he doesn’t win those states.
However, the setback in Maine could complicate this strategy, even if Christie performs well in other states.
Tags: Election, Chris Christie, Maine, Primary, Campaign, Republican, Signature, Super Tuesday, Independent Voters, Nomination, Strategy, Ballot, Appeals, Political, New Hampshire,
