A man claiming to be a former candidate for the post of governor of the US state of Arizona has been found homeless and lovelorn in the west of Ukraine, aid workers said on Thursday.

The man, aged 53, carries the passport of Cary Dolego who in 2010 was a minor candidate for the governor of Arizona, said Anastasia Beridze of the social services charity in the western Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi that found him.

He was found apparently homeless around the railway station in Chernivtsi, a relatively remote city that lies close to the border with Romania. He was taken to the sanctuary run by the charity, called "Popular Aid".

"He was sitting on the ground and looking at the trains. He looked like a typical homeless person. He was dirty, as were his clothes, and he was very hungry," Beridze told AFP.

The man nonetheless aroused curiosity as he had several suitcases and a laptop computer, she said. He said he had come to meet a young Ukrainian woman who he had met over the Internet.

But Dolego explained that the young woman never showed up and he had been left alone in a country where he did not speak a word of the language and had no money with all his bank accounts blocked.

"To be honest his explanations were hard to understand. He talked a lot, in an educated way. He was not depressed -- quite the contrary, joyous and optimistic," said Beridze.

He was hospitalised with suspected pneumonia but has recovered and should head to the capital Kiev on Monday, she added.

Beridze said the US embassy had already obtained a ticket home for the man and he would return to the United States on Wednesday. The US embassy refused to comment on the issue.

The website of the office of the secretary of state of Arizona lists Cary Dolego of Queen Creek, Arizona as a write-in candidate for the 2010 governor elections in the state.

The name of a write-in candidate does not appear on the ballot but voters can still vote for the person by writing in their name. They are usually given little chance of success. (AFP)