Fortysix of the fifty states have partisan statewide offices up in 2010.  The only states that have no statewide offices up are Mississippi, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Of the 46 states that have statewide races, it appears likely that only four states will have no minor party or independent candidates for statewide office on the ballot.  They are Alabama, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Washington.

Alabama has no statewide minor party or independent candidates because its petition requirement is so difficult.  Kentucky’s only statewide race is U.S. Senate.  No minor party or independent candidate is petitioning in that race, which requires 5,000 signatures.  New Mexico has three recognized minor parties (Libertarian, Constitution, and Independent Party), but a unique state law says they can’t place nominees on the ballot without a petition signed by 1% of the last vote cast, and none of the minor parties are doing a statewide nominee petition this year.

Finally, Washington state is not expected to have any statewide minor party or independent candidates on the November ballot because the state’s top-two system will block them.

The Libertarian Party, as usual, will have nominees on statewide ballots in more states than any other party besides the Democrats and Republicans.  Libertarians will probably be on the statewide ballot in November 2010 in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.  All of them will have “Libertarian” on the ballot except for Oklahoma, where Richard Prawdzienski, running for Lieutenant Governor, will have “independent” next to his name, because the Libertarian Party is not recognized by Oklahoma.

Forrest Claypool, independent candidate for Cook County, Illinois, Assessor, says he is submitting 90,000 signatures to be on the ballot.  The deadline is June 21, Monday.  He needs 25,000 valid signatures.