DES MOINES, Iowa, January 18, 2016 – Presidential candidate Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente campaign added Alaska, Vermont and West Virginia as well as “Democrats Abroad” to the growing list of ballots for which he has qualified. De La Fuente has already caught former Gov. Martin O’Malley in this regard without the benefit of party promotion.
While Alaska, Vermont, West Virginia and Democrats Abroad provide reasonable access to their presidential ballots, many states do not. Within the last two week, De La Fuente added Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, North Carolina and Massachusetts to the list of states in which he is ballot certified, and all but Nebraska represented real challenges.
Ohio is a notoriously difficult state in which to qualify. De La Fuente was successful, while Martin O’Malley was not.
While big name candidates are rewarded for their allegiance by being placed on primary ballots by party officials in states like Michigan, North Carolina and Massachusetts, hurdles are place in front of candidates like De La Fuente to narrow the field. No one has ever overcome the barriers that are in place in those states… until De La Fuente arrived on the scene.
Like that other “Rocky” of movie fame, this one never quits. In Michigan, he had to gather 12,832 signatures, and the law only provided seven days in which to do it. De La Fuente delivered 1,819 petitions with 20,166 signatures in that time frame much to the state’s surprise.
When asked about his chances, De La Fuente said, “I believe in myself, and I believe in the people. I’ve overcome every challenge that has been placed in my way, and I think the people will begin to recognize that. They want a leader who can overcome challenges, not one who gets by on name recognition and political favors.”
De La Fuente’s campaign expects him to gain access to dozens of additional state ballots over the next several weeks and hopes the media will begin to acknowledge his historic achievements.
