Utah is the first state to put Robert F. Kennedy Jr on its 2024 presidential ballot. He is an independent candidate.
Kennedy had to meet a 1,000-signature requirement to officially file to be on the ballot before the March 5 deadline. Utah Elections Director Ryan Cowley confirmed that Kennedy qualified. Campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear did not say which day Kennedy will file for candidacy.
Kennedy is making his own path and moving ahead because the Democrat Party has abandoned him. DHS Secretary Mayorkas won’t even grant him Secret Service protection despite his family’s tragic history with political assassinations. Kennedy reports he has received threats and a stalker (or worse) came onto his property twice in one day. The son of former senator and U.S. Attorney General Robert F Kennedy, and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy shouldn’t have to wait for some nefarious act to happen before he receives security. The Biden administration wants Kennedy to spend his campaign money instead of receiving federal assistance. It’s petty and potentially life-threatening. There are a lot of unbalanced people out there.
The campaigns of Joe Biden and Donald Trump (if he is the Republican nominee) are worried that RFK, Jr. will take votes from them. The reason for that is that Kennedy is playing it down the middle. He isn’t a progressive, as most Democrats in office are now, but an old-school standard liberal Democrat. That isn’t good enough these days for the Democrat primary voters. The DNC shut out Kennedy early in his campaign, paving the way for Biden to run essentially unopposed. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) is running as a Democrat but is going nowhere fast.
Kennedy wants the southern border secured. He supports a border wall. He supports Israel. He’ll never pass muster with The Squad and the likes of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Heck, President Kennedy would almost be a Republican in today’s politics. So, some Republican voters have grown curious about RFK, Jr. and the same is true of everyday Democrat voters, especially those primary voters looking for an alternative to going through another Biden – Trump face-off. Kennedy is no conservative but he is a reasonable human being.
Will RFK, Jr. be a spoiler in the presidential election? We just don’t know. This is truly a different kind of election year. Most voters don’t want a re-match between Biden and Trump. Most voters think Joe Biden is too old and feeble – mentally and physically – to do the job. Most people are simply waiting to see what will happen with Trump’s many legal challenges. There are a lot of balls in the air. Anyone confidently declaring what will happen in November is bluffing.
It is not clear in how many states RJK, Jr. will qualify to get on ballots. Every state has its own requirements. The process of gathering signatures and clearing the legal hurdles is costly, especially for independent candidates without one of the major party’s support.
In Utah, it will be Trump country. Will Kennedy draw from Trump votes? That will be the question in every state Kennedy is on the ballot – who will he draw support from?