Group pushing independent candidate predicts ballot access in 25 states by end of July

Better for America, founded by conservative donor John Kingston, revealed Thursday that it has successfully opened the door for a third-party candidate to get on the ballot in the Land of Enchantment and give New Mexico voters an independent alternative to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or Gary Johnson.

“BFA is poised to gain ballot access in several more states in the next several weeks,” said the group’s chief strategist, Joel Searby. “With New Mexico leading the charge, we feel very confident we are paving a path for a great American to step into this moment.”

“We are methodically and systematically pushing to get ourselves on every state ballot by conventional means and, in some cases, legal means,” Kingston told reporters during a press call on Thursday.

The group plans to have obtained ballot access in 10 states by the time Republicans gather for their national convention on July 18 and in 25 states by the end of the month.

“Those are the total number we can be on without having an actual candidate,” Kingston said.

Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, who belongs to BFA’s advisory board, was careful to note that the group is not “some dump Trump movement,” but rather aims to “get a better candidate on the ballot for the best of this country.”

Kingston was reluctant to provide names when asked who the “better candidate” might be.

“We already have a handful of people that are willing, but we are holding out to decide on the very best one,” he told the Washington Examiner, adding that “a very limited number of people at this point understand that this [ballot-access initiative] works and that we’re going to do it.

“We will have accomplished an objective by the end of July of being on all the state ballots that are [possible without a candidate],” he repeated. “And we expect to be on all state ballots by the time of the election in November.”