Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday that he will run in Florida's November presidential election as the Reform Party's candidate, even though the party itself is not recognized by the state's elections department.
The Reform Party, an alternative political party founded by Ross Perot in the mid-1990s to give voters another choice in presidential elections, nominated Kennedy Jr. as its presidential candidate this fall, saying in a press release Thursday night that the nomination will put him on the Reform Party's Florida ballot.
But the Florida Department of Elections revoked the Reform Party's minor political party registration last August, records show, several months after the department mailed the party a “notice of intent to rescind” for failing to comply with a 2022 annual audit.
A Reform Party spokesperson told The Phoenix this afternoon that the party filed to reinstate in Florida last Monday. “As soon as the paperwork is processed, we'll be ready to go,” the spokesperson said.
Mark Ard, director of external relations for the Florida Department of State, told The Phoenix that the Reform Party “has resubmitted its application to become a recognized political party in the state of Florida and that application is currently under review. Any communications regarding the pending application will be made directly with the party.”
Kennedy Jr.'s campaign is working hard to get on the ballot in all 50 states. Officially, he is on the ballot in seven states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. The campaign said in a press release that it has gathered enough signatures to qualify in eight more states: Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio.
If the Reform Party wins approval from the state elections board, the Kennedy campaign could save the money it needs to secure ballot access through petitions. The campaign needs to collect more than 145,000 valid signatures to qualify as an independent for Florida's November election, according to the state's federal qualifications handbook.
