Five months after it was reported that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was aiming to create his own political party in certain states to get on the presidential ballot with fewer signatures than would be required for an unaffiliated candidate, the former U.S. senator has officially set himself up to become an option for Mississippi voters this November.
Per a news release from Team Kennedy, paperwork for the “We The People” party was approved by the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office on Monday with the newly formed, barely known party unsurprisingly vowing to nominate Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan.
“We look forward to nominating Kennedy and helping him get elected as the next president of the United States. We need a leader who will protect what matters most – our children. He’s the breath of fresh air that Mississippi desperately needs,” We The People Mississippi Chair Melisha Dooley said, adding that the nomination should come later this month.
The We The People party was formed not necessarily for policy but rather with the sole purpose of getting Kennedy on the ballot while avoiding the high costs of attaining signatures as a true Independent candidate. So far, the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket is on the ballot in nine states – Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Texas, South Carolina, and now Mississippi – according to the release.
Team Kennedy added that it has collected enough signatures for ballot access in 14 other states – New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Minnesota, Tennessee, Alaska, and Washington. Kennedy has also publicly vouched that he plans to be on the ballot in every state, adding a third candidate to a mix that is expected to include Democratic incumbent Joe Biden and former Republican president Donald Trump.
While Kennedy’s approach to ballot access is slightly unorthodox, it has been successful with less than five months to go until the general election. While the 70-year-old environmental attorney turned politician has found a niche with some religious voters who align with his anti-vaccine views, the combination of lack of campaigning with few, scattered signs across the state and Mississippi historically being pro-Trump ground more than likely won’t result in too many votes siphoned from the front-runners. The general election is set for Nov. 5.
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