Bob Barr

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr

Voters in Kentucky are likely to have another choice in the presidential race, come November's general election, as Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, of Georgia, is clearing more hurdles to ballot access.

As reported earlier by PolitickerKY.com, Libertarian party canvassers and activists collected more than the required number of signatures to secure ballot access for Barr, a former U.S. Rep.

The AP now reports the signatures have been officially submitted and necessary paperwork has been filed with the Secretary of State's office.

If no successful challenge is mounted to the signatures - which were collected jointly for ex-Libertarian Senate candidate Sonny Landham - Barr should secure a spot on Kentucky's ballots.

The Libertarian Party of Kentucky's leadership will meet tonight to decide the fate of their Senate candidate, Sonny Landham. In the last week, Landham has made continual anti-Arab comments that culminated in an exchange on The Weekly Filibuster radio program Friday night. "So are you calling for a complete genocide of the Arab race? Is that what you're saying? Unless they raise the white flag?" asked one of the program's hosts, Sage Koontz.

"When you are in a war, you kill every thing that moves," responded Landham, a former actor who played Billy in action movie "Predator."

Friday's remarks came during Landham's second appearance on the internet radio program, and his comments were more intense than those from the first. In a Wednesday appearance on the Weekly Filibuster, Landham called for a stop to Arab immigration to the United States.

Libertarian Party leadership -- which had been leading the drive to collect signatures to secure Landham's access to Kentucky ballots -- is now considering whether they want Landham as their candidate at all.

How long is the Libertarian Party going to stand by and allow this proud member of the Council of Conservative Citizens to continue to spew his anti-Arab propaganda?

The Libertarian Party of Kentucky has obtained the number of raw signatures necessary to secure ballot access for its candidates, the party's chair told PolitickerKY.com in an email today.

Paid canvassers and volunteer activists have submitted about 5,600 signatures to party organizers, according to state Libertarian Party chairman Ken Moellman.

If approved, the signatures would put the names of former actor Sonny Landham, of Ashland, and former U.S. Rep Bob Barr, of Georgia, on the state's ballots as Libertarian candidates for Senate and president, respectively.

The submission of 5,000 signatures per candidate to the Secretary of State's office is technically sufficient to gain ballot access in Kentucky, though Libertarian activists earlier noted that many signatures are challenged and seeking a total beyond the official mark is typically necessary.

Moellman indicated that he expects between 7,000 to 8,000 total signatures to be submitted by the completion of the ballot accesss campaign.

Libertarian candidates for Senate and president will not be appearing at the annual Fancy Farm political speaking in western Kentucky this year, but not for lack of trying.

The campaign of Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Sonny Landham, of Ashland, dispatched a press release today announcing their request to secure a slot during the famous political forum had been denied by organizers.

A request for time for Libertarian presidential nominee, former U.S. Rep Bob Barr of Georgia, was also denied, according to Landham's release.

"With Congressional ratings at an all-time low and the voters of America crying out for a third option, it is disheartening to have such a fine institution and tradition as the Fancy Farm Picnic exclude these candidates from speaking to the voters of Kentucky," read the campaign release.

The candidacy of former actor Sonny Landham for the U.S. Senate was the product of a rapid search by the Libertarian Party of Kentucky that began just over two weeks ago and culminated when his nomination for the race was approved on Sunday evening.

Libertarian Party of Kentucky Chair Ken Moellman said his organization was contacted by the national Libertarian Party to recruit a candidate earlier this month that would compliment former U.S. Rep Bob Barr's run as the party's presidential nominee.

Now, the state party is hoping the Landham and Barr ticket can gain traction, particularly by siphoning off Republican votes across the state in some specific areas.

"We are looking specifically at the 4th [Congressional] District," Moellman told PolitickerKY.com. "A great number of Republicans in that area are angry about fiscal conservatism being dropped by the modern Republican Party."