Anti-Donald Trump Republicans hoping to get an alternative on the presidential ballot this November are quickly running out of time.

Monday marked the first state ballot deadline for independent presidential candidates. And it just so happened to be in a state critically important to the GOP -- Texas. An independent candidate must scrounge up almost 80,000 signatures to meet Monday's deadline to appear on the state's presidential ballot, according to Ballotpedia, a website that tracks ballot access requirements....

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney met with conservative commentator William Kristol last week to talk about a possible third-party run from Romney or another candidate. The GOP's 2012 nominee, or any other conservative challenger to Trump, would be at a serious disadvantage if they did not get on the ballot in Texas, which has 38 electoral votes. But if the goal is geared more towards stopping Trump than waging a winning campaign, the impact of having another well-known name on the presidential ballot could be significant.

Most states have ballot access deadlines that are later into summer. And the cost and organization needed to obtain such hefty amounts of signatures can in some states be surpassed by starting a new political party, Ballotpedia notes.