The Latest: Iowa AG candidate's ballot bid likely short
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Latest on an effort by some Iowa conservatives to get a candidate for attorney general on the November ballot (all times local):
5:45 p.m.
An elections worker with the Iowa Secretary of State's Office says a petition seeking to add a conservative candidate for attorney general to the November ballot appears to have fallen short of the 1,500 signatures needed.
Elections assistant Wes Hicok says the group turned in pages of signatures ahead of the 5 p.m. Saturday deadline, with a formal review of the paperwork taking place Monday.
The effort aimed to put attorney Patrick Anderson, of Des Moines, on the ballot as a non-party candidate. The group needed 1,500 signatures coming from at least 10 Iowa counties to get Anderson on the ballot. It only began the effort Wednesday.
George Anderson, an organizer of the effort and Patrick Anderson's son, had said the arrest of a Mexican man in the killing of missing college student Mollie Tibbetts prompted the whirlwind effort, because the group wanted an attorney general who would be tough on illegal immigration.
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2 p.m.
A group of Iowa conservatives is scrambling to add an attorney general candidate to the November ballot after a Mexican man was charged with slaying missing college student Mollie Tibbetts.
Dozens of people across the state are rushing to collect at least 1,500 signatures in at least 10 Iowa counties in an effort to get attorney Patrick Anderson, of Des Moines, onto the ballot to challenge incumbent Tom Miller, a Democrat currently running unopposed. Petition organizers must turn in the signatures to the Iowa Secretary of State's Office by 5 p.m. Saturday to get Anderson on the ballot as a non-party candidate.
George Anderson, an organizer of the effort and Patrick Anderson's son, says Iowa needs an attorney general who will crack down on people living in the country illegally.
