In a clever move that could shake up the 2024 presidential election, Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is working to secure ballot access in all fifty states through an unprecedented campaign — reaching out to minor political parties nationwide.
By aligning with these parties, Kennedy’s campaign looks to bypass the time-consuming and expensive process of gathering thousands of signatures from registered voters in each state, which is typically required for independent candidates.
So far, Kennedy’s strategy has seen both successes and setbacks. He has successfully secured the nomination of the Natural Law Party in Michigan and the American Independent Party in California, ensuring his place on the ballot in those states.
However, his efforts to win the support of the Alaskan Independence Party, a small group primarily focused on putting Alaskan secession from the United States to a vote, were unsuccessful.
According to John Howe, the Alaskan Independence Party’s chairman, “serious consideration” was given to nominating Kennedy. But the party ultimately rejected his bid after some members expressed concerns about his stance on issues such as government-owned land in Alaska.
Despite this one setback, Kennedy’s campaign has been in regular contact with minor parties in at least six other states, as confirmed by ABC News through conversations with leaders from more than a dozen minor parties nationwide.
The third parties in talks with the Kennedy campaign include the Unity Party of Colorado, the Alliance Party (with ballot access in South Carolina), the Reform Party (with ballot access in Florida and Mississippi), and the Constitution Party (with ballot access in nearly a dozen states).
Derek Muller, a University of Notre Dame professor specializing in election law, said it’s not necessarily uncommon for independent candidates to seek minor party nominations, but the extent of Kennedy’s efforts is unprecedented in many ways.
“You usually don’t see this kind of coordination and effort because the candidacies are usually not serious enough to make the outreach to all these parties in all these different states,” Muller told ABC News.
Early polling suggests that Kennedy could potentially garner a significant portion of the vote in a close race between the two leading candidates, Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
An ABC News/Ipsos survey found Kennedy with 12 percent support in a hypothetical five-way election that included Trump, Biden, and two other candidates, Cornel West and Jill Stein.
However, aligning with minor parties also comes with potential drawbacks. Some of these parties have controversial histories, such as the American Independent Party of California’s past support for segregationist George Wallace, a Democrat, in the 1960s.
Kennedy addressed this issue in a video announcing his nomination, acknowledging the party’s past but asserting that it has been “reborn as a party that represents not bigotry and hatred but rather compassion, unity, idealism and common sense.”
Additionally, Kennedy’s beliefs may not always align with those of the minor parties he seeks to court, as evidenced by his failure to win over the Alaskan Independence Party due to disagreements on land ownership issues.
As the 2024 election approaches, Kennedy’s campaign continues to navigate the complex process of securing ballot access through minor party nominations and other means, such as forming his own party, We the People, in states like Delaware, Hawaii, and North Carolina.
The success of his clever efforts will likely play a significant role in determining his impact on the upcoming presidential race.