Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin, who joined the race for the White House just last week as an alternative against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, will be on the November ballot in his home state of Utah after gathering twice the number of signatures needed to qualify him.
"I am profoundly honored by the trust and faith the people of Utah placed in me today," said McMullin through a press release. "In just 72 hours we gathered over twice the signatures we needed, and now our grassroots team is ready to transition from petitions to campaigning in every corner of our beautiful state.
"I'm running to give Utah voters, and all of America a candidate and a candidacy reflecting our best values and to be someone they can be proud to vote for in November.
McMullin campaign adviser Brian Henderson told The Deseret News in Utah that the candidate turned in the required 1,000 signatures, and that volunteers collected an additional 1,000 signatures.
Henderson said that now that McMullin is on ballots in Utah and Colorado, the campaign will push "aggressively" to get on the ballot in other states, and could file lawsuits "where appropriate" in states where filing deadlines have passed.
McMullin, a graduate of Brigham Young University, was a Mormon missionary before moving on to becoming a CIA agent and a stint at Goldman Sachs before his most recent position as chief policy director for the House Republican Conference.
He could pull conservative voters away from Trump in Utah, where the GOP nominee lost to Ted Cruz in the primary contest, reports CNN. If that happens, the traditionally red state could be put in play for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.