But today Nader's supporters abandoned their effort. "We withdrew after elections officials came out with us being 550 signatures short," Nader's spokesman Kevin Zeese said. "There's no question that deep-pocketed Democrats don't have much of a sense of fair play."

The Naderites couldn't afford to fight in court, according to Zeese.

'Dirty Tricks'

Nader later complained in Washington that the party had "stepped up its obstruction tendencies" in fighting his access to the states' ballots.

"We have to get a clarification if they're going to engage in dirty tricks," he said.

Editor's note: