COLUMBUS, Ohio— Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl and a number of other candidates will run as Libertarians in the 2014 general election despite new ballot-access hurdles for minor parties, a state party official and political scholars predicted.

It's still unclear, however, how much Earl and other third-party candidates will be hurt by the newly enacted rules, which observers said will force minor parties to devote time and money toward regaining state recognition instead of winning votes next year.

Under Senate Bill 193, which Gov. John Kasich signed into law earlier this month, the state would no longer recognize Ohio's four minor political parties starting in February.

To regain that recognition in time for the November election, parties will have to collect 28,000 valid signatures by July, including 500 signatures each from at least eight of Ohio's 16 congressional districts. The Libertarian Party of Ohio has also challenged the new law in federal court.

The governor, as well as lawmakers who backed the bill, say the new rules are needed after a 2006 court ruling found the state's previous standards for minor parties to be unconstitutionally restrictive.

But University of Akron political scientist David Cohen said Republicans pushed the bill through to help Kasich's re-election chances by hamstringing Earl's campaign. Their fear, Cohen said, is that conservatives upset about Kasich's support of Medicaid expansion would vote Libertarian instead, thus helping Democrat Ed FitzGerald's chances.

“I think Governor Kasich and the Republicans know it’s a huge deal,” Cohen said. “They know that if it’s a two-person race, he wins.”

Even while the Libertarians’ lawsuit is pending, state party officials intend to start collecting petition signatures as soon as possible, likely with financial help from the national Libertarian Party, said Aaron Keith Harris, the party’s state central committee chairman.

“One way or the other, we’re going to be on the ballot,” he said. “It’s just a matter of whether we’re going to have to waste a lot of resources on a pointless requalification or that (a) court’s going to step in and say ‘you can’t do that.’”

Besides Earl, Harris said, the party will likely field candidates for the four other statewide offices, as well as for legislative and local races. They’re particularly looking to recruit candidates to challenge lawmakers who voted for SB 193, he said.

Harris said the new law will hurt the Libertarians and their slate of candidates, as resources that could be used for campaigning and party-building will now instead be devoted to remaining a political party in Ohio.

On the other hand, he said, the fight over SB 193 has generated positive publicity and has galvanized support from a number of tea party groups.

“It’s a mixed bag, but I’m optimistic that we’re going to run strong in the 2014 election, whatever happens,” Harris said.

Ohio State University political science professor Paul Beck said he believes the Libertarians will lose their lawsuit, as courts tend to defer to legislative prerogative to set state ballot-access rules. But he said the party will likely submit enough petition signatures to regain official recognition.

SB 193 has created some sympathy for the Libertarians, especially among conservatives, Beck said, but he expressed skepticism that Kasich and other Republicans could face a voter backlash because of the issue. At most, he said, conservative voters would lump their displeasure with SB 193 in with their anger over Kasich’s push to expand Medicaid.

“I think that most ordinary citizens don’t home in on those kind of procedural issues very much,” Beck said.