• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is an independent presidential candidate attempting to get on the ballot in all 50 states. [usatoday.com, washingtontimes.com, theepochtimes.com]
  • Kennedy entered the presidential race last April, challenging President Joe Biden for the Democrat party’s nomination, and later announced he would run as an independent in October 2023. [theepochtimes.com, washingtontimes.com]
  • History suggests third-party candidates can’t win U.S. presidential elections, largely because of the power of the major parties; Third-party candidates can change the math in the elections. [thehill.com]
  • Kennedy could draw enough votes to change the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. [thehill.com]
  • If an election is close, a third-party candidate’s effect does not have to be large to be impactful, according to YouGov senior data journalist David Montgomery. [thehill.com]
  • People who favor Kennedy “tend to be more conservative,” and older Democratic voters “have by far the most hostile view of RFK Jr.,” according to Montgomery. [thehill.com]
  • Kennedy has a 41.7 percent favorability rating based on 74 polls, according to Decision Desk HQ and The Hill. [thehill.com]
  • Kennedy’s name recognition is a door-opener with voters, but his support is likely to ebb in polls by November, according to political science professor Bernard Tamas. [thehill.com]
  • Even if Kennedy’s support drops to 1 percent, that could be a critical 1 percent, according to Tamas. [thehill.com]
  • In past elections, third-party candidates like Ralph Nader, Jill Stein, and H. Ross Perot have had an impact on the outcome. [thehill.com]
  • Many voters are unhappy about a White House choice between Biden and Trump, and are looking for alternatives, according to Montgomery. [thehill.com]
  • Kennedy has said multiple times that he will be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. [theepochtimes.com]
  • Kennedy is on the ballot in Utah and has gathered enough signatures to appear on the ballot in Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, and North Carolina. [theepochtimes.com, usatoday.com]
  • Kennedy’s campaign announced on April 9 that it had collected 4,800 signatures, around double the number required, to get on the ballot in Nebraska. [theepochtimes.com]
  • Kennedy has enough signatures to appear on the ballot in Utah, Idaho, Hawaii, Nebraska, and New Hampshire, as well as the battleground states of Nevada and North Carolina, but only Utah has officially confirmed his place on the ballot so far. [usatoday.com, washingtontimes.com]
  • On April 4, the Kennedy campaign said it gathered 2,000 signatures to qualify for the Idaho ballot, which represents two times the minimum required. [theepochtimes.com]
  • To combat anticipated challenges from Democrats and Republicans regarding the validity of signatures, Kennedy’s campaign is collecting 60 percent more signatures than required in every state. [theepochtimes.com]
  • Last month, Kennedy filed a lawsuit against Idaho, claiming an unconstitutional signature deadline for independent presidential candidates. [theepochtimes.com]
  • Kennedy’s campaign has filed paperwork in six states to create a political party, which reduced the number of signatures required for him to gain ballot access by about 330,000. [theepochtimes.com]
  • The We the People party was established in five states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, and North Carolina, and the Texas Independent Party was also formed. [theepochtimes.com]
  • American Values 2024, a super PAC working to get Kennedy elected, said it has collected enough valid signatures for the candidate to get on the ballot in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and South Carolina. [theepochtimes.com]
  • Successful third parties tend to latch on to specific issues and pressure the major parties, but most third parties are not doing this, according to Tamas. [thehill.com]
  • Trump and his allies believe Kennedy’s campaign could help the former president win in a close election and want to boost Kennedy’s efforts. [thehill.com]
  • Kennedy has built a reputation as an activist, author, and lawyer for environmental causes, but his activism has also veered into conspiracies and contradicted scientific consensus, notably on vaccines. [washingtontimes.com]
  • He chose Nicole Shanahan to be his vice presidential pick, both leaving the Democratic Party to launch an independent White House bid. [washingtontimes.com]
  • An anti-vaccine group Kennedy led has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. [washingtontimes.com]
  • Republicans and Democrats alike have come together to criticize Kennedy, motivated in part by concerns that his candidacy can act as a spoiler for Biden or Trump. [washingtontimes.com]

Sources:

  • USA Today
  • The Washington Times
  • The Epoch Times
  • The Hill