Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ruled out a Libertarian presidential run after speculation that he might be running under a Libertarian ballot.
Multiple sources had told The Hill that he had appeared open to a switch from an independent run after a wave of support from Libertarian party members, strategists and activists. He appears to have made a decision now and he is sticking to his current plan.
Speaking to an ABC News reporter on Saturday, Kennedy said, “I think … we’re not gonna have any problems getting on the ballot ourselves, so we won’t be running Libertarian.”
NEWS: @RobertKennedyJr tells me he won't run libertarian.
"I think, we’re gonna have – we’re not gonna have any problems getting on the ballot ourselves so we won’t be running libertarian," he just told me before his ballot access event in Iowa. pic.twitter.com/C4HxB9UVmY
— Brittany Shepherd (@brittanys) April 13, 2024
A spokesperson for the presidential hopeful also confirmed his decision to The Hill, saying, “Mr. Kennedy has many areas of alignment with the Libertarian Party, including a strong stance on civil liberties and keeping the country out of foreign wars.”
“Mr. Kennedy, however, is not contemplating joining the Libertarian ticket. He is running as an Independent candidate and will be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia,” the spokesperson added.
Kennedy made the revelation to ABC News while he was in Iowa, convening hundreds of voters from up to 20 counties in the state in an effort to gain access to the state’s ballot.
So far, Kennedy has only been confirmed in Utah’s ballot. He has a long way to go as he seeks to appear uniformly on ballots in all states across the country.
Kennedy switched to an independent ticket in October after initially attempting to run under the Democratic Party. He is building his campaign on the belief that neither President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are fit to be president.
According to him, leadership of the United States needs to move from the hands of the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.
“We’re excited about a change. And I can tell you our campaign has ignited a movement I’d have been smoldering for years, a movement to reclaim democracy, resurrect the promise of our republic, the promised land. And that’s the real reason that the party elites in Washington and the insiders are terrified of my candidacy,” he said when he announced his decision to take up an independent presidential run.
