Maria Steen falls short of nominations to contest in presidential election

Presidential race will be between Connolly, Gavin and Humphreys 

Her campaign received only 18 signatures from TDs and senators, not quite reaching the 20 signatures needed.

The presidential race will now be between Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin.

Steen did not make the required number by midday despite her campaign receiving a rather late boost this morning ahead of a midday deadline to get on the ballot following independent senator Aubrey McCarthy's decision to nominate Steen.

Due to McCarthy's nomination, Steen's total nominations were brought to 18 members of the Oireachtas, however, she still required the signatures of another two TDs or senators by 11 am to be put on the ballot.

The senator spoke to RTÉ radio this morning to explain his decision to nominate the socially conservative activist.

"From the very outset, I said to anybody who approached me regarding a nomination that if they made it to the late teens, I certainly would not stand in the way of anybody getting over the line, and I would certainly not hold back access to a nomination," McCarthy said.

Answering the question of whether he and Steen had found any common ground in their discussions, McCarthy claimed they had.

"We had a fairly firm and a frank conversation," he continued. "We certainly did not agree on everything."

However, McCarthy did stress that his nomination of Steen did not mean he was endorsing her, per The Journal.

When asked if he would be voting for her, McCarthy answered in a diplomatic manner that he did not know yet, as he's not yet familiar with the campaigns of the other candidates in the running, specifically Catherine Connolly, Heather Humphreys and Jim Gavin.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said this morning that it would be a 'democratic deficit' if the number of candidates in the field is the 'narrowest field' for a generation, per The Journal.

The last time there were only three candidates in the presidential race was during the 1990 election.