Some panicked Republicans are fretting that they may not even get a candidate on the ballot for the special Senate election as the deadline for 10,000 signatures approaches, with the weekend’s blizzard threatening to cut into vital collection time. “The Mass. GOP can’t afford to play Princeton basketball and let the clock run out here. With only 20 days left, candidates need to announce and pull their papers now to ensure they’ll make the ballot,” said Michael Hartigan, a Republican consultant who worked on former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown’s 2010 campaign. Massachusetts officials require candidates to have 10,000 valid signatures to get on the election ballot by Feb. 28, but most campaign officials agree that campaigns need at least 20,000 to account for ineligible signatures.
Rep. Dan Winslow (R-Norfolk) assured the Herald he will be able to collect the signatures. Candidates can hire people to collect signatures but the cost could go as high as $100,000, said one GOP operative.
The failure to make the the signature deadline could force Republicans to launch a sticker campaign, which would require 10,000 voters to write in or put a sticker with the candidate’s name on the primary ballot on April 30.
Full Article: Storm threatens to bury GOP’s ballot hopes | Boston Herald.