During an interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, expressed confidence in securing ballot access in all 50 states despite facing legal challenges in some states.
In an interview with FOX News on Aug. 9, Kennedy stated that his campaign has gathered enough signatures to secure a spot on all 50 state ballots, although some are still pending certification.
“We’ve handed most of them in, some of the states are not yet certified, but we’re gonna be on the ballot in all 50 states, for sure,” Kennedy told the news outlet.
“A lot of the states don’t certify until mid-August. We’ve turned in our signatures, the signatures have been accepted, and they’re going to be certified,” he said. “Nobody could be on more ballots than we are right now.”
Kennedy emphasized the challenge of persuading Americans of his potential to win, addressing concerns about wasting a vote on a third-party candidate.
“I’ve got the entire media, kind of this monolithic media, that is aligned with the DNC [Democratic National Committee] telling Americans every single day that I can’t win, and then denying me the ability … this is the only network, major network, that allows me to do interviews like this one,” he said, noting that he had only done four interviews on other networks in 19 months.
A recent polling average released by FiveThirtyEight showed that Kennedy has 5.1 percent support nationwide. Kennedy has secured ballot access in 17 states, according to his campaign.
These states include Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Vermont.
On Aug. 9, Kennedy’s campaign announced that it had submitted 19,000 signatures to gain ballot access in the District of Columbia, more than four times the required number. He has gathered the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot in 46 states.
Kennedy’s campaign highlighted that the DNC has attempted “frivolous legal efforts” to block his candidacy. The third-party candidate has faced lawsuits in various states over ballot access, including New York and Pennsylvania.
Kennedy initially sought the Democratic Party nomination but decided to run as an independent in October 2023 due to obstacles from the DNC, alleging that the organization was favoring President Joe Biden and hindering other candidates from competing.
Jeff Louderback contributed to this report.
