Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign says he has qualified for just over a fifth of the 50 states he is targeting before November.
With less than six months until Election Day, Kennedy successfully petitioned to enter the swing states of Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, Nevada, and North Carolina and also accumulated enough support for larger targets such as California.
Of the 13 states that Kennedy is claiming access to the polls, Decision Desk HQ has confirmed three of them: Michigan, Oklahoma and Utah. Access The Hill/DDHQ’s ballot access tracker here.
Although Kennedy has set a goal of competing everywhere — and has predicted he will add new states each week — Democrats and Republicans believe the environmental lawyer probably only needs a few key seats to force a “spoiler” result.
The Kennedy campaign is “working to disenfranchise voters from both President Biden and President Trump,” campaign press secretary Stefanie Spear told The Hill about its ballot access strategy.
Here are the states where Kennedy says he has voted so far:
California
Electoral votes: 54
California is not in danger of turning red, but Kennedy’s presence at the polls could still harm Biden on his path to the White House. California has more electoral votes up for grabs than any other race, and Kennedy could appeal to voters who see him as an attractive third choice on the ticket. His running mate, Nicole Shanahan, an Oakland native and Silicon Valley technology lawyer, gives even more credence to the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket.
Kennedy qualified for the vote through the Independent Party and the Secretary of State has until the end of August to certify his name.
Delaware
Electoral votes: 3
Hawaii
Electoral votes: 4
Idaho
Electoral votes: 4
Iowa
Electoral votes: 6
Kennedy hopes to make his mark in the Hawkeye State despite the usual emphasis this cycle. He appeared in West Des Moines last month, rallying supporters through a convention-style event for candidates registered as independents. Unique to Iowa, the caucus is a way to bypass the signature-gathering process that requires different counties to send representatives in support of the candidate. Kennedy’s campaign noted that they surpassed the 25 country limit during the event allowing him to appear as a registered candidate.
Michigan
Electoral votes: 15
Michigan is arguably the most important among Kennedy’s current vote pool. The “mobile medium,” as Spear calls it, can be found throughout the state. Based on recent results, a hard-to-ignore faction voted in protest in the recent Democratic primary. Biden lost two delegates among the roughly 100,000 primary voters who opted for a “noncommittal” choice in February. Michigan’s anxious electorate means Kennedy can potentially make headway with disaffected Biden voters and others who are fed up with the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war but who also don’t want Trump.
Nebraska
Electoral votes: 5
Abortion is expected to be a major issue on the ballot in Nebraska. The state has a recently passed law that places significant restrictions on abortion, banning them after 12 weeks. Democrats seek to make abortion an issue of conflict not only against Republicans, who often advocate stricter pro-life measures, but also against Kennedy, who is said to have sided with the GOP on women’s health issues. Backed by national Democrats, pro-choice operatives will likely draw contrasts between the Democrats’ position under Biden and that of Kennedy in the states where she will come before voters.
“For the past year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has supported a ban on abortion and other restrictions on reproductive health,” said Joel Payne, a Democratic strategist who serves as communications director for the group MoveOn. “Recently, last week, his running mate reaffirmed his anti-abortion views. We’re not going to let him get away with this.”
Nevada
Electoral votes: 6
Both Democrats and Republicans are working to court Latino voters, highlighting their importance in key states like Nevada. Hispanics in the Silver State are especially non-monolithic and voted for both major parties — and sat out elections — making their votes more elusive and more coveted. Kennedy’s team launched a Latin American outreach program in April and added Nevada to its targets. Both Democrats and Kennedy’s allies realize that targeting Latinos could be detrimental to Biden, who has seen his support among different voting blocs fracture, in part, due to his border policies.
New Hampshire
Electoral votes: 4
The Granite State is not the group’s biggest electoral success, but it could be one of Kennedy’s best chances for success. The “Live Free or Die” approach lends itself to Kennedy’s anti-establishment campaign, and the state is known for favoring outsiders, such as Bernie Sanders and former President Trump in the 2016 Democratic and Republican primaries, over more traditional opponents. New Hampshire was one of the first places Kennedy qualified on the ballot, before he even had a running mate.
North Caroline
Electoral votes: 16
North Carolina is considered one of this year’s newest swing states. Democrats are hopeful they can flip some districts and that Biden can add them to his 270 map. The Trump campaign wants to keep it on their side after narrowly winning in 2020. Like other purple battlegrounds, Kennedy in this race creates more questions for the two major party nominees. He is officially on the ballot through the “We The People” party as a way to get around the strict signature requirements for independents.
Ohio
Electoral votes: 17
The Kennedy campaign is also counting on Ohio to be home to a sizable number of “mobile” voters. Spear says this includes independents, who are the largest voting bloc, as well as “people who have never voted or who have lost interest in the political system and young adults who are looking for a leader who can restore the American dream.”
Ohio has turned largely Republican and polls still favor Trump over Biden, but Kennedy has consistently garnered double-digit support in a three-way race, making him an unpredictable factor in the calculations of both his rivals. Kennedy’s position in the fall could make Trump’s path to victory in Ohio more difficult than expected.
Oklahoma
Electoral votes: 7
Utah
Electoral votes: 6
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
