FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — “I feel like the two parties don’t represent me.”

That’s how Nathan Gotsch began to explain his independent run for Indiana’s Third Congressional seat.

“That’s a sentiment I heard from a lot of people as we were going out into the communities asking for signatures to get on the ballot,” he added. “America is not as divided as it feels right now.”

The Gotsch campaign needed 4,598 signatures to appear on the November ballot. It collected 7,001.

There is no signature requirement for Republican or Democratic Congressional candidates. Ballotpedia shows no independents from the 50 states in the current House of Representatives.

Still, Gotsch seemed to welcome the additional work required to run outside the system.

“If I closely aligned with one of the two parties, it’s a whole lot easier for me to run as a Republican or Democrat. They have shown us how they run things. And the results speak for themselves.”

A release said Gotsch is a native of Fort Wayne with “extensive experience in education and media.” After spending the early years of his career working in entertainment, he returned to teach at his alma mater, Concordia Lutheran High School. He also spent time as a communications consultant for a health-based non-profit foundation to improve mental health awareness.

“The two party system is not in the US Constitution,” Gotsch said. “George Washington himself warned us against party alignments. Go back to his farewell address. He described exactly the situation that we have now.

“When you get a bunch of people together and they pledge allegiance to a party over the country, this is what happens.”

Learn more about Gotsch at nathanforus.com.

Gotsch will face incumbent Republican Jim Banks and Democratic challenger Gary Snyder on November 8.

WANE 15 reached out to both party candidates for comment on Gotsch’s entry into the race.

“I’m not very familiar with him but it’s obvious that many people are not happy with Jim Banks as their Congressman so I am not surprised that there are more people who have decided to run,” Snyder emailed.

Banks’ camp has not responded.