Evan McMullin did qualify for the ballot in Utah, where he's putting his campaign headquarters. | Getty Never Trump conservative misses California ballot deadline, plans lawsuit

Independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin has missed the deadline to make it on to the California ballot, a top staffer confirmed Monday.

Candidates had until Friday to file the 178,039 valid signatures of registered voters needed to get on the ballot. But on Monday, McMullin campaign chief strategist Joel Searby confirmed that the campaign had missed that deadline and was looking for alternative routes to get on the ballot.


"In California, both the legal and write-in options remain for us and we intend to pursue any and all options to ensure that Californian's get a chance to vote for Evan McMullin in November," Searby said in an email.

"Part of the problem with California and Florida and Texas and several others is that the threshold is so wildly divergent from almost every other state. so we believe it's ripe for a challenge and we intend to proceed," Searby said in a follow-up interview.

McMullin did qualify for the ballot in Utah, where he's putting his campaign headquarters.

The threshold there was much lower: He needed only 1,000 signatures to get on the ballot. The Utah qualification was a tiny bit of good news for a campaign that faces an undeniably difficult climb to any kind of competitiveness. McMullin has already missed filing deadlines to appear on the ballot in two dozen states. McMullin's campaign last week said it would wage legal challenges and explore other late-access ballot options to appear in those states.

McMullin, a CIA veteran, is running as a conservative alternative to Donald Trump, hoping to draw Republicans alienated by the Republican nominee's temperament, personal history or domestic and foreign policy proposals.