Rep. Gordon fails to get on Nov. ballot

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (AP) — A troubled Portsmouth lawmaker has failed to qualify for the November ballot.

State Rep. Dan Gordon needed 50 signatures to qualify, but fell 22 signatures short. The one-term Republican tells WPRO-AM he used an old map and inadvertently got signatures from outside his district.

Gordon told The Newport Daily News on Saturday that he planned to run as a write-in. But he told WPRO-AM on Monday that write-in campaigns are difficult and expensive, and at this point he's not willing to do it.

Gordon's arrest last year for driving on a suspended license revealed a sentence in 1999 for assault and an attempted murder charge dismissed in 2004.

• Related: Rep. Gordon jailed 3 times in Mass.
• Nesi's Notes: More on Rep. Gordon's Troubles

He said his troubles were tied to alcoholism following the 1991 Gulf War. Military records for Gordon list no Middle East service.