Nebraska Third Congressional District independent candidate Mark Cohen said Monday that he believes he’s acquired enough petition signatures to land himself a spot on November’s general election ballot.
Cohen’s estimating his petition signature total is around 3,500, well above the 2,000 required to become eligible for the general election.
Cohen told Nebraska Public Media that he plans to continue gathering signatures through the end of the month.
“We only need 2,000 valid signatures to get on the ballot,” Cohen said. “So we’re still in the process of collecting and finalizing those, and I probably won’t turn those in until the last week in July.”
He added that he’s continuing to gather signatures to pad against potential rejections from the secretary of state, and will continue his campaign as though the petition has been approved.
“It may take three or four weeks for the secretary of state’s office to approve the petitions,” Cohen said. “I don’t have time to wait around for that.”
The third district’s other independent challenger, Macey Budke, told Nebraska Public Media that she has opted not to pursue a petition, but rather will remain in the race as a write-in candidate.