Texas GOP Waives Forgery Probe, OKs All 6 Candidates
George Strake, state Republican Party chairman, said Monday that the six GOP presidential candidates are eligible to compete for delegates in the March 8 primary, even though forgeries were found on some certification petitions.
Some of the voters’ signatures on petitions submitted in Texas by Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr., Rep. Jack Kemp of New York and former Delaware Gov. Pierre S. (Pete) du Pont IV have been questioned.
Du Pont withdrew from the primary ballot Saturday, saying he was “outraged” over allegations that employees of a hired consultant had signed his petitions.
A total of 5,000 valid signatures are required to certify a candidate for the Texas GOP ballot and to qualify him to compete for the 111 delegates to the Republican National Convention.
Strake said: “It would be grossly unfair to the candidates themselves, and especially to the voters of Texas, to let the misguided actions of a few individuals deny the voters’ right to make their judgment.”
Strake said the party has given up trying to substantiate the forgery allegations and added: “We are declaring that all six candidates will remain on the ballot and will remain eligible to win delegates in the Texas Republican Party.”
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