Robert Kennedy Jr. closer to third-party ballot access in Florida

Image via AP.

Arguably the leading presidential candidate outside of the two major parties, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is closing in on being an option for voters in the Sunshine State who don’t want President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump.

Specifically, Kennedy looks likely to be running on the Reform Party line.

“The Reform Party has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for President of the United States and will hand him our automatic ballot access in the State of Florida as well as our advantages as a qualified party. We look forward to working with Mr. Kennedy,” the political organization announced.

The Reform Party still isn’t on the ballot, per the Division of Elections, but there is some time to cure that obvious deficiency. Meanwhile, RFK is considered to be an “active” independent candidate as of this writing Friday.

It’s uncertain, based on recent polling of the race from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, if Kennedy will materially affect the ultimate outcome in the Sunshine State.

“While Kennedy would currently win 10% of the vote in Florida according to the Florida Chamber’s poll, this support comes evenly from both main party candidates as Donald Trump retains a nine-point advantage over Joe Biden in a three-way ballot, 46-37%,” the polling memo released May 12 asserts.

Kennedy’s profile in the state was boosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis during his own failed presidential campaign that ended in January after a decisive loss in the Iowa Caucuses.

Though DeSantis ultimately objected to Kennedy picking “very far left” Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, he spent months talking up the wild card candidate and promoting ideological affinities, as highlighted by his suggesting that Kennedy could lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Food and Drug Administration if DeSantis was elected President.

He later walked that back, saying he envisioned Kennedy on a task force.

DeSantis also had occasion to dispel “chatter” about the unlikely scenario of Kennedy as his own running mate, saying “on the bulk of issues, I think he’s a liberal Democrat.”

DeSantis also suggested Kennedy would hurt Trump in the General Election.

“RFK Jr. will be a vessel for anti-lockdown and anti-Anthony Fauci voters if Trump is the nominee,” DeSantis said in October.

The Reform Party has had some notable candidates, including Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996, Pat Buchanan in 2000 (a candidacy that helped to elect George W. Bush with an infamous butterfly ballot in Palm Beach County seemingly steering would-be Al Gore voters his way), and Ralph Nader in 2004.

In the ultimate irony, though, is that in 2000, Trump himself flirted with a Reform Party run.