RFK Jr. signals he’s open to running as Libertarian in 2024
Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the New York State Capitol, May 14, 2019, in Albany, N.Y. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country’s most famous political families, is running for president. Kennedy, a Democrat, filed a statement of candidacy Wednesday, April 6, 2023, with the Federal Election Commission. (AP)
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(The Hill) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signaled he is open to running as a Libertarian Party candidate in 2024 as he continues his quest of getting on the ballot in all 50 states come November.
During his appearance on CNN Saturday morning, Kennedy was asked by anchor Michael Smerconish if he would seek the Libertarian Party nomination as he is still running as an independent to make sure he can appear on the ballot in all 50 states and in D.C.
Kennedy said he is open to that possibility, mentioning that he has a “really good” relationship with the Libertarian Party and that he might speak at the party’s Californian convention soon.
“That is something that we’re looking at,” Kennedy said on Saturday. “We have a really good, relationship with the Libertarian Party. I’m going to be speaking at the California Libertarian Party convention. I think it’s next week or maybe in a couple of weeks. And, we’re talking about me talking about me speaking in New York.”
In his response, Kennedy added that his campaign had filed paperwork to create their own party in six states to bolster ballot access with a smaller amount of signatures.
“And then we have our own political party now in six states, which have rules that make that give us an advantage to have our own political party,” Kennedy said.
Two weeks ago, Kennedy’s campaign started forming the “We the People” party in North Carolina, Hawaii, Delaware and California along with the “Texas Independent Party” which would help him get on the ballot in those six states with far fewer signatures.
After Kennedy’s response, Smerconish then played the audio from his podcast where the head of the Libertarian party, Angela McArdle, mentioned the good relationship they have with the independent candidate.
Kennedy confirmed that they’ve had conversations and that he agrees with “most” of what the party stands for.
“Yeah, well, we are talking to the Libertarian Party, and I feel very comfortable with, with most of the values Libertarian Party,” Kennedy said. “We have good relationships. I’m talking regularly to libertarian groups. So we’ll continue to do those talks.”
As he continues his independent White House bid, Kennedy recently elicited some concerns from Democrats who think he might tilt the election to former President Trump, GOP’s likely nominee, if he maintains his solid polling numbers in swing states like Georgia and Arizona, battlegrounds that are hard to win for all candidates.
Kennedy qualified to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire, the second state besides Utah, where he would be an independent candidate come general election time.