Nevada election officials have confirmed that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign has gathered enough signatures to be included on the Nevada ballot. This development marks a significant step for Kennedy’s independent presidential campaign to challenge the dominance of the Republican and Democratic parties in U.S. elections, bringing the fight to a crucial battleground state.
Kennedy’s campaign has garnered support due to his well-known name and loyal base of followers, potentially positioning him as one of the most successful independent presidential candidates in decades. However, his campaign faced a setback when he did not qualify for the CNN debate in June. Instead, he held a separate event where he addressed questions posed to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in real-time.
Despite the verification of signatures, there is still a possibility of legal challenges. State and national Democrats previously filed a lawsuit contesting Kennedy Jr.’s eligibility to appear on the Nevada ballot as an independent candidate due to his associations with political parties in other states.
Kennedy Jr.’s campaign hastily submitted a new petition following clarifications from Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar’s office, who noted that the original petition might be invalidated because a running mate was not listed. The campaign had filed a lawsuit against Aguilar’s office regarding the requirement for independent candidates to name their running mate while collecting signatures, claiming they had obtained prior approval in January to collect the necessary signatures without listing a vice-presidential selection.
In response to the guidance issued by Aguilar’s office, Kennedy Jr. selected California lawyer and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan as his running mate in late March. State and county election officials have verified over 22,000 signatures on the new petition, well surpassing the minimum requirement of just over 10,000.
