HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A spokesman for Republican U.S. Senate hopeful August Wolf says the campaign is confident it has collected enough signatures to ensure the former Olympian will appear on Connecticut's Aug. 9 primary ballot.

Tuesday marked the deadline for Wolf's campaign to submit signatures of registered Republicans to registrars of voters across the state. Wolf needs 8,079 signatures to challenge the GOP's nominee, Bethel state Rep. Dan Carter.

The registrars now have a week to verify the signatures before submitting them to the Secretary of the State's Office, which will determine whether Wolf collected the required amount.

Wolf has blamed ``arm-twisting'' by ``party-insiders'' for his loss of the party's endorsement at the recent Republican State Convention. If there is a Republican primary, the winner will face Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal in November.