Thomas Ravenel, a former State Treasurer of South Carolina, says he will submit over 10,000 valid signatures by the July 15 deadline. See this story. If he succeeds, he will be the first independent candidate for U.S. Senate in the history of government-printed ballots in South Carolina.

South Carolina has been one of four states in which there had never been an independent candidate for either Governor or U.S. Senator on a government-printed ballot, but it seems likely that independent candidates for both offices will qualify in that state this year. The other states that have never had an independent candidate for either office are Indiana, New Mexico, and North Carolina.