AUSTIN, Texas, May 12 (UPI) -- Kinky Friedman's campaign says it has submitted far more than the needed voter signatures to let the author and songwriter run for Texas governor in November.
Friedman is seeking to unseat Gov. Rick Perry, who is seeking re-election. In 1986, Friedman lost his bid to become a county justice of the peace.
His gubernatorial campaign said it had collected 169,574 signatures on his petitions, reports the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman. The Texas secretary of state's office said it will take up to six weeks to validate petitions.
Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the state comptroller who was elected as a Republican, are trying to meet a requirement that independents need to collect at least 45,540 voters who sat out party primaries and runoffs, the report said.
Other opponents of Perry are Democrat Chris Bell and Libertarian hopeful James Werner.
Commenting on the campaign, Friedman told the American-Statesman: "Strayhorn and us together represent a lot of people. And a lot of people are very unhappy with what's going on in Texas. ... I really want this state to be number one in something besides executions, toll roads and property taxes."
