Texas

Mike Collier is a smart guy. But his decision to run as an independent for Lt. Governor is a stupid move. All that happens here is to be a spoiler and that means Dan Patrick wins and continues to cause havoc on the lives of the citizens of Texas.
First, he has to qualify for the ballot by getting signatures. And I know he’ll not get enough signatures if he depends on volunteers. So he’ll have to spend about a million bucks just to get on the ballot.
An independent statewide candidate must get a petition with signatures equal to one percent of the total votes for Governor in the 2022 election. Those signatures must be gathered in a short period after the May 2026 primary runoff election and CANNOT be of anyone who voted in either the Democratic or Republican primary. So it means they must be from the masses of ill informed Texans who won’t be showing up at political meetings or rallies, etc of the two parties. So all door-to-door or on a street corner gathering.
Good luck with that!
Texas Election Code Sec. 142.007. NUMBER OF PETITION SIGNATURES REQUIRED. The minimum number of signatures that must appear on a candidate's petition is:
(1) for a statewide office, one percent of the total vote received by all candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election;
Total Votes Cast in 2022 Governor’s race: 8,102,908
One percent of that is 81,030.