House District 45 candidate Richard Corcoran announced Monday that he had collected 1,025 certified signatures  -- enough to qualify by petition for the race.

Corcoran said in a statement that he and over 30 volunteers collected the petitions starting in mid-June. Last week, the petitions were certified by the Pasco and Pinellas Supervisor of Elections offices. He said he is the first candidate in the state to collect the number of certified petitions needed to qualify.

Corcoran faces two other Republicans – Pasco school board member Kathryn Starkey and Clearwater businessman Fabian Calvo – in the August primary. Corcoran, a lawyer for Pasco Sheriff Bob White, and Starkey have been running neck and neck in fundraising for the seat.

"I'm so grateful to the many friends and supporters who came out on Saturday mornings and during the week to help us in this endeavor, and I'm extremely proud we did it the old-fashioned way -- door to door.  Rather than doing a mass mailing, we were able to connect face to face with voters all over the district, knocking on over 4000 doors in 4 months,” Corcoran said.

--Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer