Ken Krawchuk plans to be the Libertarian candidate for governor of Pennsylvania for the third time this year.

Krawchuk ran in 1998 and 2002, and on Saturday, he will begin his efforts to make the ballot in 2014. His announcement will come at the Pennsylvania Libertarian conference this weekend in Bethlehem, Pa.

“I’ve been campaigning around the state since early November when I announced my intent to form an exploratory committee, and the response among Libertarians has been overwhelmingly supportive,” Krawchuk said. “The long-time party members recall my performance in the debates and on the campaign trail in 2002, and would love to see an encore. The newer members are excited by the idea of a Libertarian Governor candidate, which is something most of them have never known.”

Getting on the ballot as a third party candidate in Pennsylvania is an uphill battle.

Republican and Democratic candidates only need 1,000 or 2,000 signatures to get their candidates on the statewide ballot, Krawchuk’s campaign calculated that the Libertarian gubernatorial ticket will need a minimum of 16,639 signatures.

The higher requirement comes from a state law that requires third party candidates obtain a number of signatures that is equal to 2 percent of the total votes received by the most popular candidate for statewide office in the previous general election. This is because third parties don’t have primaries in Pennsylvania.

But Krawchuk remains undaunted, and believes that support for Libertarian principles.

“When I talked in 2002 about decriminalizing marijuana, legalizing gay marriage, or nullifying bad federal laws, it was all cutting edge politics. But today these are all mainstream ideas that have gained broad public acceptance,” he said. “I’m eagerly looking forward to continuing the discussion of other cutting-edge issues, including defusing the abortion debate, eliminating the state’s monopoly on public education, and reforming over-regulation and welfare through the Separation of Society and State, among many other issues.”

Krawchuk, 60, has been a registered Libertarian since 1993. He was born and raised in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia, where he also went to school. Krawchuk works as an information technology entrepreneur and is also the lead inventor of three U.S. Patents related to database theory.

This may be a record year of gubernatorial candidates, as conservative activist Bob Guzzardi is attempting to get on the Republican ballot against Governor Tom Corbett and seven Democrats are vying for their nomination: Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Montgomery), State Treasurer Rob McCord, former Department of Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf, former DEP Secretaries Katie McGinty and John Hanger, Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz and minister Max Myers.