( CNN ) -- A federal judge on Friday ruled against four Republican presidential candidates seeking a spot on Virginia 's March 6 primary ballot , saying they waited too long to file their claims . Left off the ballot are Texas Gov . Rick Perry , former House Speaker Newt Gingrich , former U.S Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former Utah Gov . Jon Huntsman . The four candidates challenged the state 's residency requirements for those seeking to circulate ballot petitions , but Judge John Gibney ruled against the challenge . The four candidates `` knew the rules in Virginia many months ago , '' the judge wrote in his ruling . `` In essence , they played the game , lost , and then complained that the rules were unfair . '' Gibney , a 2010 appointee to the federal bench in Richmond by President Barack Obama , said his ruling denied the candidates ' motion for a preliminary injunction . `` The plaintiffs have waited too long to file , and the doctrine of laches bars their claim , '' Gibney wrote . `` The Commonwealth is far along in the electoral process . The primary election is so close that the plaintiffs can not gather the requisite signatures to get on the ballot . To place the plaintiffs on the ballot would deprive Virginia of its rights not only to conduct the primary in an orderly way but also to insist that a candidate show broad support , '' the judge wrote . Two other candidates did qualify for the GOP primary : former Massachusetts Gov . Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas . Gingrich told CNN 's Erin Burnett the decision means `` voters of Virginia have been denied five candidacies that ought to be on there . '' `` We 're going to keep going , '' Gingrich said . `` It just means that I have to ultimately , coming out of winning South Carolina ( and ) winning Florida , I 'll have to beat Romney in enough extra states to make up for it . '' The Paul camp welcomed the decision and said the campaign is now a `` two-man race . '' `` Nothing new was learned here today , as the Virginia ruling merely confirms the suspicions of what many people feel about the viability of Perry , Gingrich , Huntsman , and Santorum , '' national campaign chairman Jesse Benton said in a statement . Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said he did n't expect the ruling to be the last word in the ongoing case , which is expected to be appealed to a federal appeals court in Richmond . `` I am pleased that the district court is allowing Virginia 's orderly election process to move forward , '' Cuccinelli said in a statement . `` The ruling today dealt only with the request for a preliminary injunction . The litigation is ongoing . '' Virginia holds its Republican primary on March 6 , Super Tuesday . At stake in the primary are Virginia 's 49 delegates . Virginia state law specifically prohibits voters from writing in candidates not on the ballot in primary elections . Huntsman and Santorum did not file petitions with the Virginia State Board of Elections that would have allowed them a place in the state 's primary . Gingrich and Perry filed petitions that were rejected by the Republican Party of Virginia for not meeting requirements . The four candidates sued the state 's board of elections over laws they claimed were unconstitutional . Virginia requires candidates to obtain 10,000 signatures from registered voters in the state , with at least 400 signatures coming from each of the state 's 11 congressional districts . CNN 's Michael Martinez contributed to this report .
NEW : Gingrich says `` we 're going to keep going '' Virginia attorney general indicates candidates may appeal . This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate. Perry , Gingrich , Santorum and Huntsman wo n't be on Virginia primary ballot .