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| Gore supporters fall short in effort to put him on Mich. ballot 10/23/2007, 4:52 p.m. EDT By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN The Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Efforts to collect enough signatures to put former Vice President Al Gore on Michigan's Jan. 15 Democratic presidential primary ballot have fallen short. Supporters needed to collect 12,396 valid signatures by Tuesday but collected only around 3,000, said Bob Alexander, co-chairman of the Michigan Draft Gore group. He said in a statement that the group was able to raise only about a fifth of the $12,500 it needed to mount a full-time petition drive. Gore backers on Tuesday urged the state Democratic Party to bow out of the presidential primary and instead hold party caucuses so Gore could be on the ballot if he gets into the race. But state Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said that isn't going to happen. "We're intending to use the January 15 primary to select our delegates," he said Tuesday. Gore won Michigan in his unsuccessful 2000 presidential bid, but so far has not said he will run again for the White House. He still could get on the Jan. 15 ballot as a write-in candidate if he files a form with the Michigan secretary of state's office by Jan. 4. Eight Democratic presidential candidates were on the primary ballot, but four of them — Joe Biden, John Edwards, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson — withdrew because Michigan broke national Republican and Democratic party rules by deciding to hold its primary before Feb. 5. Gore backers favor a presidential caucus because it could give some of those candidates a chance to still pick up national convention delegates. "It is grossly unfair and undemocratic that Michigan Democratic voters who favor Obama, Gore, Edwards, Richardson or Biden won't see their candidate's name on the January 15 primary ballot," said Douglas Kelley, Michigan Draft Gore co-chairman. Brewer insisted Tuesday that "we're still aiming for the January 15 primary." He and Michigan Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis have until Nov. 14 to bow out of the joint primary if something changes, however. While all eight Republican candidates remain on the Michigan primary ballot, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chris Dodd, Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich are the only Democrats whose names voters will see. Brewer declined to speculate on whether the withdrawal of Biden, Edwards, Obama and Richardson means Clinton likely will win most of the state's 60 national convention delegates who will be allocated according to the primary results. But he said he is not worried Michigan delegates won't get seated at their national conventions, even though the Democratic National Committee plans to strip Florida and Michigan of their delegates for scheduling primaries before Feb. 5 and the Republican National Committee wants to take away half the delegates from Michigan, New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina and Wyoming because those states shifted their elections ahead on the GOP calendar. "Saul and I agree on that, that in the end, the (presidential) nominees will seat both delegations," Brewer said. ___ EDITOR's NOTE: Kathy Barks Hoffman heads the Lansing AP bureau and has covered Michigan politics since 1986. |