In the runup to the season’s first presidential debate set for June 27, longshot third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. managed to satisfy two of the prerequisites for a run at the Oval Office: being born in the United States, and filing an official statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
However, the longtime anti-vaxxer and brainworm survivor failed to clear the bar on two other requirements, namely, reaching a threshold of at least 15 percent in four major national polls of registered or likely voters, and getting himself on the ballot in enough states to have a shot at clinching the necessary 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the election in November.
Kennedy fell short on both counts, garnering the minimum level of support in just three approved polls—CNN, Quinnipiac University, and Marquette Law—and appearing on the ballot in a mere nine states, which account for a total 139 electoral votes.
