Republican secretary of state candidate Pam Anderson on Monday qualified for Colorado’s June primary ballot after election officials determined she submitted enough valid signatures on nominating petitions.

Anderson, a former Jefferson County clerk and former executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, is running for the GOP nomination against Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was indicted a month ago on 11 felony and misdemeanor charges related to allegations she and others tampered with secure voting equipment and software as part of a scheme to uncover evidence of election fraud.

They both hope to face Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold in November. Griswold, an attorney, is seeking a second term and is unopposed for her party’s nomination.

Anderson’s campaign had to collect 1,000 valid signatures from registered Republicans in each of the state’s eight congressional districts, for a total of 8,000 signatures. Griswold’s office said in a statement that 12,317 of the 17,904 submitted by Anderson were valid, easily surpassing the requirement.

Anderson cut it closest in the El Paso County-based 5th Congressional District, with 1,282 valid signatures, and had the greatest surplus in the Eastern Plains-based 4th Congressional District, where she gathered 2,065 valid signatures.

“I’m really proud and humbled by the combined effort of dedicated volunteers and compensated petition gatherers who worked tirelessly to qualify us for the ballot,” Anderson said in a release.

“Republicans from all four corners of Colorado have put their faith in my campaign, and those endorsements are a foundation for the momentum we have going into the election. We are now entirely focused on sharing with all primary voters why I am the best choice for Republicans to win in November.”

Peters is seeking a spot on the primary ballot at Saturday’s state GOP assembly in Colorado Springs, where she’s expected to easily clear the necessary 30% support from delegates. Economic development specialist and first-time candidate Mike O’Donnell is also vying for a berth in the primary at the party assembly.

Colorado Republican Party Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown and the GOP’s other statewide officers called on Peters to suspend her campaign in early March after a Mesa County grand jury indicted Peters and her chief deputy clerk, Belinda Knisley, on multiple felonies, asking Peters to “consider what is best for the Republican Party in Colorado” while she “avails herself of our judicial system.”

Peters, who has maintained she did nothing illegal, rejected the state party’s entreaty, calling the indictments part of a politically motivated campaign by officials from both parties to muzzle supporters of former President Donald Trump. 

Peters is slated to appear with other Republican candidates Tuesday at a rally at the state Capitol in Denver featuring MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a leading promoter of the unfounded theory that Trump really won the 2020 election.

Anderson has pushed back against claims made by Peters and other advocates of the belief that the election was stolen from Trump.

In a statement issued on Monday, Anderson said she’s the candidate best suited to “rebuild voter confidence” in elections.

“Colorado has been a trailblazer for balancing election integrity with ballot access, but we can’t make the case by talking to our own echo chambers,” she said. “I am a competent and proven professional who knows how Colorado’s systems work, because I helped build them. I’m the only one in the race with the courage to defend them and a record of reaching across partisan divides to safeguard our democratic republic and bring the best ideas to serve Coloradans even better in the future.”

Neither Peters nor a spokesman for Griswold’s campaign responded to a request for comment.