RFK Jr. secures spot on Michigan ballot as Kennedy family backs Biden

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign announced it met the requirements to appear on Michigan‘s ballot for the 2024 election on Thursday.

Kennedy and his vice presidential mate Nicole Shanahan were nominated for the swing state’s ballot by the Natural Law Party in Michigan.

“He’s the most qualified candidate in the modern-day history of America,” Natural Law Party Chairman Doug Dern said in a statement. “We welcome Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Shanahan to the party.”

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Michigan is the first battleground state Kennedy has qualified for. He also gained access to Utah’s ballot, and his campaign claimed it has the necessary signatures to be on the ballots in New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, and Iowa.

The campaign said it is working to gain access to all 50 state ballots.

“We have the field teams, volunteers, legal teams, paid circulators, supporters, and strategists ready to get the job done,” Stefanie Spear, campaign press secretary, said in a statement. “We are exceeding all our benchmarks and will announce new states each week.”

President Joe Biden’s campaign has sought to neutralize Kennedy’s impact as a spoiler third-party candidate. But with Michigan ballot access, Kennedy is poised to play a more serious role in the election.

Biden won Michigan in 2020 by a little over 154,000 votes, flipping the state from former President Donald Trump, who won it in 2016.

Kennedy’s campaign raised $5.4 million in March, with $2 million coming from his running mate, according to data compiled by Rob Pyers, research director at California Target Book. His campaign spent nearly $4.5 million and ended the quarter with $6 million cash on hand.

Shanahan is a wealthy Silicon Valley philanthropist, lawyer, and ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Her $2 million contribution likely bolsters Democratic criticisms that Kennedy selected Shanahan last month to help finance the costly expenses of running an independent presidential campaign.

On the same day Kennedy’s campaign announced he qualified for Michigan’s ballot, more than a dozen family members were busy endorsing Biden at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center in Philadelphia.

The family has repeatedly expressed its disappointment in Kennedy’s presidential campaign. But in the endorsement on Thursday, there was no direct mention of Kennedy.

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“We want to make crystal clear our feeling that the best way forward for America is to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to four more years,” said Kerry Kennedy, the younger sister of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“President Biden has been a champion for all the rights and freedoms that my father and uncle stood for,” she continued. Her father was former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and her uncle was former President John F. Kennedy. “That’s why nearly every single grandchild of Joe and Rose Kennedy supports Joe Biden. That’s right. The Kennedy family endorses Joe Biden for president.”