Nader fails to make ballot in Arizona
Democrats had challenged signatures
(CNN) -- Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader failed to make the ballot in Arizona, his campaign announced Friday.
Nader needed the signatures of 14,694 registered Arizona voters to make the ballot, but Kevin Zeese, a spokesman for Nader, said that the campaign fell 550 signatures short.
Zeese said the campaign submitted 21,185 signatures to the Arizona Board of Elections but, due to a legal challenge from the Democratic Party, more than 6,400 of the signatures were disallowed.
"They litigated us out of the race," Zeese said of the Democratic Party, labeling the court challenge "underhanded harassment."
Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Jim Pederson said that Nader did the "only honorable thing" by withdrawing his name in the state.
"Every candidate - Democrat, Republican or independent - must follow the laws of Arizona in order to run for office," Pederson said in a statement.
"After realizing his operatives had failed to follow the necessary procedures or collect the requisite signatures, Mr. Nader had no other choice but to withdraw his bid to be placed on the Arizona ballot."
The Nader campaign is not officially on the ballot of any state yet, but Indiana is the only other state where Nader missed the qualifying deadline for signatures. Nader said Friday he was "moving on all fronts" to get on the ballots of numerous states.
According to Zeese, the next big challenge for the campaign will come next week in Illinois where he said Democrats are again mounting a legal challenge in order to keep Nader off the ballot.
