Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to appear on Utah ballot

The independent presidential candidate confirmed his candidacy filing with the state during a Wednesday press conference in Salt Lake City. Utah is the first state where Kennedy has qualified for ballot access ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Kennedy said Maine, New Hampshire, and North Dakota refused to send him ballot petitions for his supporters to sign. He described the refusal as a symptom of the “undemocratic lock the major political parties have on this process.” He said the Democratic and Republican parties specifically make it “almost impossible” for “any normal American to challenge their chokehold.”

Isn’t Kennedy a Democrat? Kennedy dropped out of the Democratic party in October to run as an independent ahead of the election. The nephew of President John F. Kennedy said it was hard to leave his family’s traditional party but that the switch was essential to avoid corruption and partisan politics. Kennedy wanted to appeal to voters tired of partisan and biased policies. Kennedy has previously supported abortion in the first trimester, affirmative action as a practice, and bans on some semi-automatic rifles.

Dig deeper: Read Adam M. Carrington’s column in WORLD Opinions on the effectiveness of third-party candidates in elections.