As the primaries are underway, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been working to gather the needed signatures to appear on the 2024 general election ballot. After announcing that he received the 3,000 required signatures to appear on New Hampshire’s ballot in November, Kennedy is looking into running as a Libertarian.
The topic was addressed on CNN’s “Smerconish” on Saturday when host Michael Smerconish asked the independent if he would consider running on the Libertarian ticket.
“That is something that we’re looking at,” Kennedy told Smerconish. “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 speaking in New York.”
NEW – RFK Jr. Floats Running With Libertarian Party to Get On Ballots In All 50 States
“That’s something we’re looking at” pic.twitter.com/Ehv10R10nv
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 27, 2024
Kennedy also stated that his campaign filed paperwork to form the political party “We the People” two weeks ago in North Carolina, Hawaii, Delaware, and California along with the “Texas Independent Party” to help him get on the ballot in those six states with fewer 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.
Kennedy stated that he feels “very comfortable” with most of the Libertarian Party’s values and that he will continue speaking with libertarian groups.
The Libertarian Party also expressed having a good relationship with Kennedy and did not dismiss the idea. Last fall, Libertarian Party chair Angela McArdle stated in an interview that the party and Kennedy were “on good terms.”
“We’ve had a lot of good conversations [with Kennedy] and we’re on good terms,” McArdle said. “I respect his decision to run as an Independent. We admire his strong position against mandates and lockdowns. We’re going to stay on friendly terms and see what happens.”
According to an ABC/IPSOS poll, 37% of voters would “seriously consider” voting for a third-party candidate. Many experts have speculated that Kennedy will be a wild card in the election, taking votes from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
If he joined the Libertarian party, Kennedy would appear on the ballot for all 50 states.