Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign is aiming to get on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, which is a herculean task for a third-party candidate. The Democrat-turned-independent presidential candidate has completed signature gathering in Nevada, Idaho, Hawaii, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Nebraska and Iowa, while a PAC supporting RFK Jr. said enough signatures have been collected in Arizona, Georgia, and South Carolina. He has already landed on the ballot in Utah, and just last week, announced his name will appear on the ballot in the critical swing state of Michigan, which Democrats are worried about.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, the former White House Press Secretary asked California Gov. Gavin Newsom about the “potential impact” of Kennedy Jr. on President Biden’s reelection chances.
"He's a Kennedy. We revere Kennedys, at least I do… That's real and I know we can look at some polls…But at the end of the day, common sense would dictate [the impact is] real...Bobby Kennedy Jr., if he gets on [the ballot] in more than just that one critical swing state of Michigan, and gets on the ballot in some of these others, I think you have to take that very, very seriously," Newsom cautioned.
The Kennedy campaign says it’s strategically waiting until closer to the deadlines in the aforementioned states to submit final paperwork, hoping to avoid legal challenges from the DNC, CBS News reports.
While polling is mixed when it comes to which candidate, Trump or Biden, RFK Jr. will hurt more, a recent survey out of Michigan suggests the independent candidate will take more independent voters from the president.
Kennedy, 70, was polling at 13% in the Mitten State, according to a survey conducted earlier this month by Marketing Resource Group.
In a five-way matchup, the poll found former President Donald Trump received 37% support, President Biden got 34%, Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 2% and independent candidate Cornel West got 1%.
The survey also showed Kennedy edging Biden into third place among self-described independent voters, with Trump getting 33% of that demographic, RFK Jr. 22% and Biden getting 21%. [...]
Biden, who won Michigan by fewer than 155,000 votes out of more than 5.5 million ballots cast in 2020, already faced an uphill effort to retain the state’s 15 electoral votes after more than 100,000 people cast “uncommitted” ballots in the Feb. 27 Democratic primary to protest the president’s handling of the war in the Middle East. (New York Post)
Thank you, Natural Law Party for nominating us to be on Michigan’s 2024 presidential ballot. 🙏 #KennedyShanahan24 🇺🇸 https://t.co/iI7JuLyfo8 pic.twitter.com/Vnxj3pfTVe
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 18, 2024