Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made it on the ballot in a handful of states. Despite saying he does not belong to any party, some have helped him get there.
As he embarks on his quest to get on the ballot in all 50 states, Kennedy will appear on the ballot in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, and Utah so far. The PAC supporting Kennedy also said it had gathered enough signatures to place him on the ballot in Arizona, Georgia, and South Carolina.
In some states, however, Kennedy has partnered with little-known parties in order to bypass signature gathering to get on the ballot.
In California and Michigan, he was nominated by parties that already had placements on the ballot: Natural Law Party of Michigan and the American Independent Party of California. According to ABC News, his campaign has been in contact with similar small parties in six other states.
“As the campaign sees and recognizes that these are very convenient vessels out there, it’s a clever move, and it’s not a surprise they do it,” Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame professor who specializes in election law, told ABC News.
Courting other parties hasn’t completely worked for the Kennedy campaign. The Unity Party of Colorado chose to nominate Cornel West, another third-party presidential candidate, over Kennedy.
The Alliance Party, which has ballot access in South Carolina, is seemingly receptive to taking on Kennedy as its nominee.
“National Alliance Party leadership has begun early conversations with the campaign for potential mutual support,” Phil Feuhrer, the party’s national co-vice chair said.
He said the conversations are “young and still ongoing” but could reach Minnesota as well.
“If we reach full agreement with the campaign and our internal statewide leadership teams, it would include placement onto the South Carolina ballot as well as the Minnesota Independence-Alliance taking lead on placing the campaign onto the Minnesota ballot,” Feuhrer said.
It’s a tricky line to walk as sometimes smaller parties have questionable histories or ideology that doesn’t completely align with Kennedy’s positions. The American Independent Party of California endorsed George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama and well-known segregationist. In a campaign video, Kennedy acknowledged the party’s past.
“It’s been reborn as a party that represents not bigotry and hatred but rather compassion, unity, idealism and common sense,” Kennedy said.
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In Alaska, the Alaskan Independence Party, whose goal was to have Alaska secede from the U.S., ultimately chose not to nominate Kennedy after its convention meeting.
“Our liberty and prosperity must come from within ourselves,” Bob Bird, the former chairman of the Alaskan Independence Party, said, “not from a knight galloping in from the Lower 48.”