Illinois' list of potential presidential candidates expanded on Monday, adding five new names to the list in addition to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Among them, the campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a nomination for candidacy with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Monday afternoon, which campaign officials said contained more than 60,000 signatures.
If the elections commission verifies the validity of the documents, Illinois will become the ninth state to allow independent candidates to appear on the ballot.
Kennedy Jr., nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, had tried to win the Democratic nomination over Biden but lost to the presumptive nominee in that race and began running as an independent in October.
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RFK supporters Shawn Phillips and Kirsten Bonanza of Springfield, who were seen as underdogs in the election four months away, see the candidate as a needed change from Biden and Trump.
“So much of how I shape my life is by asking, 'If I make this choice, what will my life be like in the next five years?' … And when you ask that about him (RFK), the answer is beside the point,” said Bonanza, one of about 30 supporters gathered outside the Springfield Board of Elections office. “Bobby Kennedy is a politician, but the others are still just politicians.”
Phillips added that Kennedy Jr.'s ideas on handling the border crisis and tackling the national debt garnered her support. Still, the Kennedys are not endorsing him and are urging voters to back Biden. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a surrogate for Biden, previously told CNN that Democrats would be “wasting their votes” to support anyone other than Biden.
Kennedy is seeking to secure voting rights in all 50 states, with challenges filed in four states this month. Both Biden and Trump blocked a challenge to having their name appear on the November ballot in Illinois earlier this year.
Who else is running?
Joining Kennedy in filing for the presidential nomination were Green Party candidate Jill Stein and two Illinois residents, Christopher Sisco of Piper City and Heather Lynn Stone of Peoria. Independent Cornel West lost.
Former gubernatorial candidate Scott Schulter has filed paperwork as the Libertarian Party candidate, but state party executive director Justin Tucker confirmed to the State Journal Register that Schulter is a surrogate for former Georgia Senate candidate Chase Oliver, who is the party's official candidate.
Tucker said a replacement candidate was needed because the party's petition drive began after the Libertarian Party's presidential nominating convention over Memorial Day weekend. Oliver's name will appear on the ballot, not Schulter's.
Challenges to candidates who ran between June 17 and June 24 can be filed from now until next Monday. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, with early voting beginning September 26.
Contact Patrick M. Keck: pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.
