Top Line
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear on the ballot in Florida, his campaign announced Friday. He won the nomination of the little-known Reform Party, and his campaign is waging an aggressive and painstaking strategy to ensure he appears on the ballot in all 50 states.
Robert Kennedy Jr. announced his candidacy for the US presidency at a rally on April 28, 2024. … [+]
Key Facts
The Reform Party, founded by former independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, voted Thursday to formally nominate Kennedy as its candidate in Florida's election, according to the Kennedy campaign.
In addition to Florida, Kennedy's campaign said signatures from him and his running mate Nicole Shanahan will appear on the ballot in Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, Texas and Hawaii, adding that they have also collected signatures in New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, New Jersey and Ohio.
Kennedy does not have enough votes in enough states to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidential election, but with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump's approval ratings consistently within single digits, even appearing on the ballot in one of the six battleground states expected to decide the 2024 election – Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin – could be enough to sway the outcome.
Kennedy is not backed by an official political party and must petition to get on the ballot in most states, but he has tried to get around this in some states by seeking nominations from lesser-known parties, such as the Natural Law Party in Michigan and the American Independent Party in California.
The Kennedy campaign is also filing lawsuits challenging voting access rules in several states, including Utah and Maine, and acknowledged that it delayed filing the petitions until the last minute to avoid challenges from Democrats, campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Speer told The New York Times.
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tangent
The DNC filed a complaint against Kennedy with the Federal Election Commission in February, alleging that he illegally coordinated with American Values 2024 PAC, which supports his candidacy, to secure voter access.
Main Background
Kennedy initially ran for president as a Democrat but later switched to being an independent, allowing him to continue running if he lost to Biden in the primary. Though he is the scion of one of the nation's most prominent Democratic families, Kennedy has drawn Republican support for his criticism of COVID-19 response, and polls are divided on whether he will attract more votes from Biden or Trump. A recent New York Times/Siena/Philadelphia Inquirer poll found that Kennedy currently has about 10% support in six battleground states, including independent Cornel West, Libertarian Party candidate Lars Mapstedt, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, as well as former President Donald Trump and Biden.
References
Poll shows RFK Jr. will hurt Trump more than Biden (Forbes)
RFK Jr. Demands “No Spoiler Pledge” to Drop Out of Election If Polls Show Biden Can't Beat Trump (Forbes)
As Democrats launch anti-third-party campaign, why RFK Jr. could hurt Biden more than Trump (Forbes)
