Pretty damn close, though. Just ask some party loyalist get some signatures and the ballot slot is filled. Getting a candidate to *win *and not just be a placeholder takes some work, of course.
Yes, my impression is that that is exactly what he did.
So you get some party functionary into the position well before the deadline, and do it in every district because you don’t know where the Nazi is going to stroll up. Like ElvisL1ves says, it’s only a lot of work if you’re trying to win, not just to be a placeholder. And it keeps your options open, in case some unpredictable black swan event turns out to make the race winnable after all.