Anti-war activist to challenge Pelosi

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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan says she's qualified for a general election challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the California ballot.

Sheehan, known for her protests outside President George Bush's ranch in Texas, said she's collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate for Congress, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"We're very excited, said the 51-year-old mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. "Now we have to get organized and regroup."

As late as Wednesday, Sheehan's signature collection effort was short of the 10,198 signatures required to get on the ballot after San Francisco elections officials ruled more than 40 percent of the people who signed the petition weren't registered in the city's 8th Congressional District, the Chronicle reported during the weekend.

Sheehan's supporters shifted to overdrive, collecting enough signatures to beat the 5 p.m. Friday deadline and turning in more than 17,000 signatures.

Republican Dana Walsh and Libertarian Philip Berg will join Pelosi and Sheehan on the Nov. 4 ballot.