Christian Smith
(NewsNation) – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., isn’t done striving to get to the polls in all 50 states in November, as he also faces the challenge of polling high enough to enter the presidential debates.
Taking the vote
Kennedy’s campaign says it has secured enough money to gain access to the polls in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., while he is busy crisscrossing the country collecting the necessary signatures
Your message? That voters “deserve a better alternative to the two-party system.”
He is officially registered in seven states, according to the campaign: Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, Hawaii and Texas.
He has also collected enough signatures for ballot access in eight others: New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio and now New Jersey.
Kennedy campaign
Kennedy initially entered the race as a Democrat, but later ran as an independent. Kennedy has faced controversy over his views, including his anti-vaccine stance. He also recently made headlines when he announced that doctors discovered a parasitic worm had eaten part of his brain.
NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ polls show that 57% of voters ages 18 to 34 have a favorable opinion of Kennedy, as do 48% of Republicans, 43% of independents and 35% of Democrats. That’s not good news for Biden, who has seen support from young voters and voters of color disappear, in part because of his handling of the war in Gaza.
While Kennedy may have some support among voters, his family has made it clear they support Biden, saying there are only two viable candidates for president.
Even if Kennedy is not a viable candidate, he could have a big impact on the race. In 2020, there were narrow margins of victory in some swing states. If Kennedy can turn voters away from either Trump or Biden, that could be enough to tip the scales in favor of the other.
Holding the debate
He claims that he will meet the criteria to also participate in the first presidential debate, before the June 20 deadline. Under debate rules, he will have to get 15% of the vote in four different national polls that meet certain standards.
Currently, only President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive nominees for their respective parties, have met the criteria, according to the debate host.
Trump has said he will welcome Kennedy if he takes the stage.
“I wouldn’t have any problem if he got whatever the limit was. But it’s too low and it seems to be going in the other direction, the wrong direction,” Trump said.
NewsNation asked a senior adviser to the president if Biden was worried about Kennedy taking the stage.
He said it will be a debate between the “two viable presidential candidates.”
The debates came on suddenly, with the two rivals going back and forth on social media this week, eventually agreeing to two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate. It will be the first time that Biden and Trump will take the stage together since 2020.
