Former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's campaign for secretary of state is nearing the roughly 37,000 signatures needed to appear on the ballot.
The former Republican is running as an independent and vows to offer an alternative to the state's two "broken" political parties.
Ballard's campaign announced they have submitted over 35,000 signatures so far, ahead of the June 30 submission deadline.
Those signatures will still need to be verified by county clerks, and Ballard said his campaign will submit well over the necessary signatures, as a precaution in case some get thrown out.
"We're going to put in significantly more than that, I think. Eventually, we'll have to figure out what that number is going to look like, but we're pretty happy with the progress so far," Ballard said.
If Ballard is approved for the ballot he'll face Democrat Beau Bayh, Libertarian Lauri Shillings, and the winner of this Saturday's crowded Republican convention.
Ballard said his message to offer an alternative to Democrats and Republicans is resonating with voters he's spoken to.
"The two parties have a stranglehold on the voters right now and have a stranglehold on the citizens," he said. "That has to change."
Ballard said he is not running as a spoiler for either party but is running to win. He said polling shows roughly 40% of Indiana's voters identify as independent, not Republican or Democrat, and that this election represents a moment where that constituency could win.
After last November's election Ballard said he would form the Lincoln Party. If Ballard can get more than 2% of the vote, it would allow future candidates to run under that party banner without needing to get enough signatures to appear on the ballot.
But Ballard said it's too soon to imagine who might run as part of that party.
"Those brainstorming sessions are probably occurring somewhere, but they're not with me," he said. "I'm focused on this race right now."
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
