Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now officially on the California presidential ballot. This was a significant milestone as it secured him access to the voters in the state with the most Electoral College votes in the country.
Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan secured the endorsement of the American Independent Party (AIP) of California, yet another stepping stone.
And on Monday, his campaign declared that it filed all needed paperwork with the secretary of state to have him on November’s ballot. This, of course, is alarming news to Democrats who fear he will siphon support away from their deeply unpopular incumbent.
Kennedy released a statement rebutting critics who drudged up AIP’s decades-past relationship with segregationist former Alabama Gov. George Wallace.
Pushing that criticism aside, he described the modern AIP as an organization dedicated to “compassion, unity, idealism and common sense.”
The independent said the AIP was “reborn as a party that represents not bigotry and hatred.” He explained the group “just drafted a new charter for their reborn party where they will use their battle line for good for helping independent candidates to unite America.”
This, Kennedy said, will work around the current “two-party duopoly” in the U.S.
The push for ballot access for Kennedy now counts California along with Michigan and Utah as states where he is officially qualified. His camp already collected enough signatures to be chosen by voters in Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Nevada.
Kennedy began his outsider run for the White House as a Democrat but quickly found himself ostracized by those in power. This led to last fall’s shift to an independent candidacy and the current charge to gain ballot access across all 50 states.
