Struggling to gain ballot access as an independent presidential candidate in most states, Robert Kennedy Jr. is looking into running as a Libertarian in November's election.
Kennedy, who left the Democratic Party in October to run as an independent, has qualified for the ballot only in Utah. He has met the signature threshold in New Hampshire but hasn't filed because his campaign is still finalizing its paperwork.
The Libertarian Party obtained a ballot line in all 50 states in both 2016 and 2020. It's not clear whether it has achieved full ballot access for 2024 yet, CBS News reported.
Kennedy told CNN on Saturday that running as a Libertarian could be an option.
"That's something that we're looking at. We have a really good relationship with Libertarian Party," Kennedy told host Michael Smerconish.
Kennedy said he would be speaking at the Libertarian Party of California convention in late February.
"We are talking to Libertarian Party. I feel very comfortable with most of the values of the Libertarian Party," he said. "Like I say, we have good relationships. I'm talking regularly to Libertarian groups. So, we'll continue to do those talks."
Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle has said the party and Kennedy had been having "a lot of good conversations" and are "on good terms."
"I respect his decision to want to go independent. But Libertarians really admire the strong position against mandates and lockdowns, and so we're going to stay on friendly terms and see what happens," McArdle told Smerconish on his radio show.
Political parties besides the Democratic Party and GOP must collect signatures and meet individual state ballot access requirements.
In some states, the number of signatures required for a party may be lower than for independent candidates. That's why Kennedy's campaign earlier this month filed paperwork to create a new political party called "We the People" in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, and North Carolina.
The campaign created the "Texas Independence Party" in the Lonestar State as a way to lower the signature threshold.
"With these political party filings, the number of signatures needed to get Kennedy on the ballot in every state has been reduced by about 330,000, a third of the total needed nationwide," the campaign said in a Jan. 16 press release.
But while the number of signatures required may be lower for new parties than for independent candidates, winning ballot access could be more difficult. For example, California and Delaware require a certain number of voters to register for the "We the People Party" to get Kennedy on the ballot, CBS News reported.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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