Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy announced Monday that he qualified for the ballot in California, which has the most electoral votes of any state.
The update comes after the American Independent Party of California nominated RFK Jr. and his running mate Nicole Shanahan over the weekend, filing paperwork on Monday with California’s secretary of state.
Kennedy explained how the AIP has had a “rebirth” since its days representing figures like former Alabama Gov. George Wallace.
“It’s been reborn as a party that represents not bigotry and hatred, but rather compassion and unity and idealism and common sense,” Kennedy said in a video announcement. “When they learned about my candidacy, they had just drafted a new charter for their reborn party where they could use their battle line for good for helping independent candidates to unite America without being blocked by the two-party duopoly.”
He added: “What I’m trying to do during this election is to get people to step away from their narrow self interest, to transcend their lower impulses of anger and bigotry and fear and see themselves as part of a big adventure, see themselves as heroes that are willing to take a risk."
Huge news! Kennedy-Shanahan on the California ballot! Watch the video below to hear how it happened ⬇️ #KennedyShanahan24 pic.twitter.com/wV2R4P9y8Q
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) April 29, 2024
In addition to California, Kennedy and Shanahan are officially on the ballot in Utah and Michigan, and have collected enough signatures for ballot access in New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, and Iowa, according to his campaign website.