White House crasher Tareq Salahi says he is seeking the congressional seat Rep. Eric Cantor lost in Virginia's primary election, but as it turns out, he doesn't have enough signatures to be on the ballot.
Salahi claimed to Richmond's
Style Weekly that he had turned in 3,000 signatures to appear on the ballot as a candidate for the Independent Green Party of Virginia, and expects a minimum of 1,000 to be verified by the board.
But
The Washington Post reports that Salahi, who became a household name in 2009 when he and then-wife Michaele crashed President Barack Obama's first White House state dinner, only submitted 2,051 signatures.
Out of those, said an assistant to the officer of the commissioner for the Virginia Department of Elections, only 480 were from Salahi's district, far fewer than the 1,000 he needs. In addition, he won't be able to add more signatures, as the deadline for petitions has passed.
Salahi told Style Weekly he is "taking the advantage of my television career and converting folks who aren't sure how they're going to vote" referring to the appearances he and his ex-wife made on the Bravo cable network reality show "Real Housewives of D.C."
This isn't the first time Salahi has had political aspirations. He also ran for Virginia's 10th District congressional seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and tried a run against Ken Cuccinelli for the Republican governor's nomination.
Salahi told Style Weekly that he has a riches-to-rags story that his constituents will appreciate.
"I’ve made millions and I’ve been through difficult times,” he claimed. “The elite candidates can’t say that. They were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. I’ve been through all of it. That’s what you have to go through to understand the hard times people are going through in District 7."
Since crashing the White House dinner, Salahi has been through a divorce, money problems and has been involved in several lawsuits.
In addition, his former neighbors are angry at him. He is renting his Front Royal mansion to vacationers in an attempt to save the home from foreclosure, and neighbors are complaining to the town's board of supervisors that Salahi's tenants have turned the posh home into a "party pad" and a nuisance.
Salahi, 45, formerly ran the Oasis Winery in Front Royal and plans to open a brewery this fall.
Meanwhile, his ex-wife in December
married Journey guitarist Neal Schon, the Post reported, in an extravagant, pay-per-view event that viewers could watch live for $14.95.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.