Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Libertarian Party’s national convention at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Friday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Jose Luis Magana/AP/FR159526 AP
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long-shot presidential bid has hit several hurdles in recent days: He won’t appear on the ballot after failing to meet the voting threshold and not receiving enough state votes. on stage at this week’s presidential debate.
The latest fundraising reports show the campaign doesn’t have much money in the bank, but Kennedy’s campaign manager and daughter-in-law, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, isn’t worried about the campaign’s future.
In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, she insisted there would be a “three-way debate” on Thursday and falsely claimed the independent presidential candidate fit the bill announced by CNN. The standard for President Biden and former President Donald Trump appearing on the debate stage together.
Qualifications for the outlet include requiring candidates to receive at least 15 percent support in four polls from certain high-quality pollsters and to appear on enough state ballots to meet the 270 electoral vote threshold to truly win the election. Win the Presidency.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not met, and the campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission saying this week’s debate was illegal without his participation, even suggesting that CNN staffers could face prosecution if that happened.
Kennedy has won at least 15 percent in three qualifying polls, but his approval ratings have declined recently: the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll had Kennedy at 11 percent, and a recent Fox News poll had him at 10 %.
According to the campaign’s latest press release, Kennedy is officially on the ballot in eight states: Utah (6), Michigan (15), California (54), Delaware (3), Oklahoma States (7), Hawaii (4), Texas (40), and South Carolina (9) received only 138 electoral votes, well below the required number.
Even so, the campaign appears to be overstating current access: Texas election officials, for example, have yet to certify petitions filed earlier this year. In Mississippi, where the campaign has previously said it has the right to vote, election officials there said the We the People party that nominated Kennedy did not file the proper paperwork and is not currently on the ballot.
Rather than creating a new political party, each state has different rules and thresholds for third-party voting rights, with different deadlines and different requirements for candidates.
Democrats are currently filing lawsuits in at least four states, including Nevada and North Carolina, to prevent Kennedy from getting on the ballot. They accuse the campaign of misleading voters who signed the petition and making errors during the petition process.
In addition to denying debate and voting access barriers, the campaign also faces funding constraints.
In total, the campaign raised more than $46 million, including $10 million in self-funding from vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan, and spent more than $40 million, including About a quarter went to security services and campaign consulting.
In May, the campaign raised about $2.6 million and spent more than $6 million, mostly on vote-getting efforts. RFK Jr. has nearly $6.5 million in the bank.
Kennedy’s campaign manager attributed the decline to the economy and said the campaign actually had more donors than ever before.
“For example, we added more donors and supporters in the first four days of June than we did in the entire month of May, and similarly we had more donors and supporters in May than we did the previous month,” she says. “I believe this is a very exciting and telling sign of the growth of the movement. What we are seeing is individual donations – the actual total of individual donations is down, not the total number.
When asked what Kennedy would do Thursday instead of participating in the debate, his campaign manager seemed to suggest that Kennedy would try to somehow be present at the Atlanta standoff between Trump and Biden.
“Well, I think the American people want their leaders to believe in their ability to make their own decisions, and no matter what, there’s going to be a three-way debate on Thursday,” Amaryllis Fox Kennedy said. “So I can’t disclose that right now. Too many details, but stay tuned as he plans to give the American people the three-way debate they deserve.”
