REPORT: RFK Jr. Surpassing Ballot Access Expectations, Likely to Qualify in All 50 States

 

The presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is surpassing ballot access expectations and will likely qualify as a candidate in all 50 states.

According to a report from Politico, Kennedy has already turned more than twice the required number of signatures required to run in Texas and is quickly racking up other key states.

The report states:

Kennedy and his rookie campaign team’s ability to reach the requirement is an organizational feat — one they’re repeating in state after state. Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, are now on the ballot in four states. They have finished signature gathering in nine more and are circulating petitions for 29 others.

The campaign hopes to defy the odds and get on the ballot in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., — ensuring that his candidacy will affect the November election.

“In the last two or three months, I’ve been very impressed with the Kennedy operation for being able to smartly maneuver and get on ballots that were expensive and difficult,” said Michael Arno, whose ballot access firm worked with No Labels. ”It sounds like they’ve done very well in both Texas and New York, and that’s very impressive and a real feather in their cap.”

Speaking at a rally in Austin, Texas, Kennedy said that he had proven his doubters wrong. “The pundits, who at the beginning of this campaign, were saying it would be impossible for us to get on the ballot, and we got on the ballot in Texas,” he said. “And if we can get on in Texas, we can get on everywhere.”

Kennedy’s candidacy has become a matter of significant national interest, not just because of his family name, but also the way he could affect the outcome of the election.

Having initially pledged to run as a Democrat, Kennedy realized that there was no room in the party machine for his anti-establishment views and decided to run as an independent.

While Kennedy inevitably pulls votes from both candidates, polling data so far appears to suggest that his candidacy helps Trump more than it does Biden. Last month, his sister Rory expressed concern that his campaign will ultimately help return Trump to the White House.

“My biggest concern with Bobby’s run is that he is going to take votes away from Biden, and I think this election is going to come down to a handful of votes in a handful of states,” she said at the time. “And I am concerned that voting for Bobby is going to take votes away from Biden and lead to a Trump election.”