Bismarck (Forum News Service) North Dakota Republican State Representative, Rick Becker, of Bismarck, says he turned in more than 2,500 signatures to Secretary of State Al Jaeger’s office on Friday, Sept. 2.

Over the next week, if Jaeger determines next that at least 1,000 of the signatures are valid, Becker’s name will appear on the November ballot. The conservative candidate told Forum News Service he fully expects to appear on the ballot next to incumbent GOP Sen. John Hoeven and Democratic challenger Katrina Christiansen.

Becker narrowly lost the Republican nomination to Hoeven in April at the GOP state convention. Right after the convention vote, the ultraconservative lawmaker told Forum News Service that his failed bid for the GOP nomination might be the end of his political career.