(KNZA)--It's official---State Senator Dennis Pyle will be on the Kansas ballot in November as an independent candidate for governor

The Kansas Secretary of State’s Office announced Thursday that it had verified that Pyle had gathered more than the 5,000 signatures required.

Pyle, of rural Hiawatha, left the Republican party earlier this year before announcing he would run for governor against incumbent Democrat Laura Kelly and Republican Derek Schmidt, who currently serves as state attorney general. Libertarian Seth Cordell will also be on the ballot.

In a press release announcing the certification of his signatures, Pyle described himself and running mate Kathleen Garrison as the “conservative opposites of Kelly and Schmidt.” 

Garrison is a Clearwater school board member. He pledged to be a “pro-life” leader in the wake of the overwhelming defeat of Kansas’ abortion amendment, support parental control over education and “get to the bottom” of election integrity concerns. There is no evidence of widespread election fraud in Kansas.