June 20 (UPI) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent presidential candidate, is expected to sit in the gallery next week when President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump take the stage for the first of two debates.
Kennedy, 70, missed Thursday's deadline and was therefore ineligible to appear in CNN's upcoming presidential debate scheduled for June 27 alongside the Democratic and Republican candidates.
Kennedy has more than 15 percent support in three accredited national polls, though CNN is calling for four. Kennedy also failed to secure enough state votes by Thursday's deadline to secure 270 delegates.
“While it's not impossible for Kennedy to do so, it's unlikely that any candidate other than Biden or Trump would meet these requirements,” CNN said in a weekend note.
Kennedy filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission last month, accusing CNN of holding her to a “different standard” for debate eligibility compared to Biden and Trump. The FEC has yet to rule on the complaint.
“The Federal Election Commission has made it clear that the term 'presumptive nominee' is not included in the debate rules,” Kennedy campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Speer said in a statement.
“By not using objective standards, CNN is violating federal law because the debates are considered campaign contributions and are subject to strict contribution limits,” Speer added.
Kennedy claims Biden and Trump are “trying to exclude me from the debate because they are afraid I will win.”
Kennedy could qualify, and the next presidential debate, hosted by ABC, is scheduled for September.
The Kennedy campaign announced last month that independent candidates had qualified to vote in California, the state with the most electoral votes.
In addition to California, Kennedy is also officially running in Utah, Michigan, Delaware, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Florida, Hawaii and Tennessee.
The campaign said it also had enough signatures to place on ballots in New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Texas, Mississippi, Iowa, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Minnesota, Alaska and Washington.
Despite having nine states on the ballot, Kennedy is currently far short of the 270 electoral votes needed to win November's election.
