AUGUSTA — Former Maine governor, Angus King, submitted an estimated 6,000 signatures Tuesday making his indpendent campaign for the U.S. Senate official with the Maine Secretary of State’s Office.

King is one of four independents expected to compete in the race that will replace the retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe, a long-serving Republican.

 During a press conference at the State House Tuesday King said those gathering the signatures from voters for his campaign put in a, “tireless effort.”

” I am humbled that we have more than 1500 volunteers, that these signatures come from every county in the state and that you all are here today because we share a common goal,” King said in a prepared statement.

Those joining his campaign want, “an end to the partisan gridlock and a more civilized debate in Washington, D.C. that offers real answers not mudslinging,” King said.

The former two-term governor entered the race shortly after Snowe announced her resignation in late February.

Wendy Newmeyer who owns Maine Balsam Fir Products in West Paris, introduced King Tuesday.

“Angus King has been a friend of small business in Maine since his first day in office as an independent Governor,” Newmeyer said. “He worked with leaders from both sides of the aisle before in Augusta and he will again in Washington.”