3 Pa. Libertarians end effort to get on ballot

HARRISBURG - All three Libertarian Party nominees for statewide office in Pennsylvania abandoned their bids to get on the fall ballot Wednesday, leaving no third-party opposition to the Republican and Democratic candidates for governor and the Senate.

Filing papers to withdraw were York lawyer Marakay Rogers, running for governor; Douglas M. Jamison, an engineer from Washington County running for Senate; and Kat Valleley, a Bucks County homemaker seeking to become lieutenant governor. The action came after nearly two days of intensive scrutiny of their petition signatures.

Commonwealth Court Judge P. Kevin Brobson canceled a planned Monday hearing and directed elections officials to strike the Libertarians' names as candidates in the Nov. 2 election.

Marc Antony Arrigo, a Philadelphia lawyer representing the three, said they conceded that the challenge filed by a group of Republican voters would leave them with fewer than the 19,082 signatures required for third-party candidates for statewide office.

The spokesman for the Republican State Committee, which helped the challengers, said the signatures had problems.

"We had a lot of voters who are not registered at all" but signed the petitions, GOP spokesman Mike Barley said.

On Monday, self-proclaimed tea party candidate John Krupa withdrew his petition to run for governor.