By MIKE SMITH,AP Political Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — Three Republican Senate candidates are closing in on having enough petition signatures to qualify for Indiana's May primary ballot by next Tuesday's deadline, according to state report released Monday.

The Election Division report also showed no certified signatures yet for former Republican Sen. Dan Coats, who last week entered the race in hopes of winning the primary to challenge Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh.

Coats' spokesman Kevin Kellems said a team of volunteers began collecting signatures Friday.

"It's a big challenge," Kellems said. "I'm not trying to downplay it any. Gathering 500 certified signatures per congressional district in this kind of time frame is challenging, but it's going well. I can tell you that all systems are go."

Candidates must collect at least 500 signatures from registered voters in each of the state's nine congressional districts by Feb. 16 to get on the primary ballot.

Former Congressman John Hostettler, state Sen. Marlin Stutzman of Howe and Richmond financial adviser Don Bates Jr. all have at least hundreds of signatures in each district. But not all counties report their number of certified signatures early, so the numbers reflect a minimum of signatures so far.

Hostettler, Stutzman and Bates all had gathered at least 4,400 signatures statewide and had surpassed the 500 requirement in at least three districts.