JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former senior investigator for the U.S. House committee probing the Jan. 6 insurrection on Monday said he has enough signatures to get on the ballot as an independent candidate for Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat.

John F. Wood said he has the 10,000 signatures needed to appear on the ballot for retiring GOP Sen. Roy Blunt ‘s seat.

Wood said he’ll keep collecting signatures from registered voters to make sure he meets the threshold. The signatures still need to be certified by the Missouri secretary of state The deadline to submit signatures to run as an independent is Aug. 1.

Wood’s candidacy comes as some Republican leaders express concern that former Gov. Eric Greitens might prevail in a 21-candidate field for the Republican nomination for the seat in the Aug. 2 primary, then lose in November because of the sex and campaign finance scandals that pushed him from office in 2018.

Greitens also faces allegations of physical abuse from his ex-wife, which he has denied.

With the Senate evenly divided, the GOP can’t afford to lose what would otherwise be a safe seat.

Wood has said he’s a lifelong Republican but that both parties are becoming too extreme.

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