AUSTIN, Texas — Maverick gubernatorial candidates Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn learned Thursday that they had each collected enough valid voter signatures to make it onto the November ballot.

The announcement by Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams sets up a crowded race for the fall election among the two independents, Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democrat Chris Bell.

The last independent to be elected Texas governor was Sam Houston in 1859.

"Not one but two viable independent candidates have made the ballot for the first time in nearly 150 years," Friedman, a musician and author, said in a statement. "This tells us what we've long suspected: the two-party system has failed our state."