Governor Perdue’s Pick for state school superintendent did not get enough signatures to get his name on the ballot.

Interim state superintendent Brad Bryant fell 8,000 signatures shy of the 44,000 signatures he needed to enter the race.

Bryant is a Republican, but he tried to run as an independent because Governor Perdue appointed him to fill out Kathy Cox’s term after qualifying for the Republican primary already closed.

Perdue spokesperson Burt Brantley says it’s too early to say if the governor will throw his support behind any of the other Republican candidates.

“We’ll have to now move forward and see what goes from here but we were hopeful all the way up to this morning that the numbers would work in Brad’s favor,” says Brantley.

Bryant was the only independent candidate vying for a state wide race.

But spokesperson for the secretary of state Matt Carrothers says local races may have some independent contenders.

“One independent candidate for the senate and eight independent candidates for the house did turn in their signatures today,” says Carrothers.

Now those petitions must be verified.

Tags: Georgia, election, state schools Superintendent, 2010 elections, Independent, Bradley Bryant, independent candidates