Kennedy Campaign Ballot Access Fully Funded; RFK Jr. Statement On Debates

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Brooklyn on May 1st. Photo by Jason Schott.

Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign announced on Thursday that it has secured the necessary funding to fulfill ballot access in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

In order to further this goal, Vice Presdidential Candidate Nicole Shanahan provided $8 million of additional funding in April.

"This isn't just about funding our own campaign," Shanahan said in a statement. "We want to liberate presidential elections from the grip of the existing two-party duopoly, and revitalize American democracy.

"Nobody thinks the Democrat-Republican domination of our system is a good thing. Since their candidates are so unpopular, this year is the perfect time to challenge it."

The Kennedy-Shanahan ticket has officially made the ballot in six states - Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, and Texas. In addition, the campaign has collected enough signatures for ballot access in eight other states - New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio.

Those 14 states comprise a total of 187 electoral votes, 35 percent of the 538 total electoral votes nationwide. The Kennedy campaign says they will be announcing one to three states where it's made the ballot per week.

Campaign Manager Amaryllis Kennedy said, "The expense of ballot access - in both time and treasure - is one of the establishment's most powerful cudgels against independent political thought. Americans demand and deserve an alternative to the broken status quo. We are thrilled to put these funds to work crossing the finish line in all 50 states plus DC."

RFK Jr. Statement On Trump-Biden Debates: On Wednesday morning, the campaigns of President Biden and Former President Trump agreed to a pair of debates this summer, on June 27 and September 10. The thing that was clear to everyone is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will likely not be a part of it.

Kennedy weighed in on X (@RobertKennedyJr): Presidents Trump and Biden are colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want.

They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win. Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy.

Forty-three percent of Americans identify as independents. If Americans are ever going to escape the hammerlock of the two-party system, now is the time to do it. These are the two most unpopular candidates in living memory.

By excluding me from the stage. Presidents Biden and Trump seek to avoid discussion of their eight years of mutual failure including deficits, wars, lockdowns, chronic disease, and inflation.