Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Qualifies For California Presidential Ballot

The Robert F Kennedy Jr./Nicole Shanahan presidential campaign qualified for the California Presidential ballot on Monday, becoming the fourth state where the Kennedy campaign has qualified for ballot access so far.

Kennedy has had an active presidential campaign since April 2023, where he first announced his candidacy in Boston. While initially running as a Democrat, RFK Jr. switched to becoming an independent in October 2023. In the subsequent months, polls have shown that Kennedy has between 5% to 12% support, leading to many Democrats and Republicans to accuse him of being a spoiler vote. Democrats have specifically compared him to Ralph Nader, while Republicans have called him Ross Perot.

Despite this, Kennedy moved forward with his campaign, and in Oakland last month, announced tech lawyer Nicole Shanahan would be his running mate. However, ballot access remained a constant thorn in the campaigns side. Since late 2023, the campaign has focused on getting access in large electoral states and swing states. These have included Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. His first state was Utah in December 2023. While New Hampshire came the next month, it wasn’t until earlier this month that he got on the ballot in Michigan. Needing a large state to fuel quicker ballot access, RFK Jr. focused on his residence state of California. On Monday, the effort paid off, with the Kennedy/Shanahan campaign making the ballot in California through the American Independent Party (AIP).

“Ironically, the AIP was initially the party of segregationist and former Alabama Governor George Wallace, but it had its own rebirth before I came along,” said RFK. Jr. in a video announcement on Monday. “It’s been reborn as a party that represents not bigotry and hatred, but rather compassion and unity and idealism and common sense. When they learned about my candidacy, they had just drafted a new charter for their reborn party where they could use their battle line for good for helping independent candidates to unite America without being blocked by the two-party duopoly.”

While California is only the fourth state, experts told the Globe on Monday that the campaign’s success in California will likely finalize access in other states where they are close to succeeding, such as Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska and Iowa.

“Yeah, RFK Jr. can really draw votes from both sides this election,” said political analyst Eloise Johnson to the Globe on Monday. “He’s got supporters both on the far right and the left. I mean, he still has that Kennedy name, and who thought that we would see a Kennedy in a Presidential election again, even as a third party candidate?

“That being said, he only has a handful of states right now. Even if his team goes full court press , they still probably won’t get all 50. But he will get enough to make a difference in the election. Not so much in California, but it could be enough to give Trump a boost in numbers. More worrying is New Hampshire, Michigan and states like Nevada and North Carolina. These states are always close, and RFK Jr. coming in and siphoning votes can be worrisome. Also worrisome is if he qualifies for a debate.

“California just gave his campaign a big boost today by giving him ballot access. And as soon as you have California, it makes things easier elsewhere.”

More on the Kennedy Jr. campaign is due out soon.