RFK Jr the kingmaker: How Kennedy is set to hand the keys to the White House ... trends now
As November's election draws nearer, the presence of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot is causing worries in the Trump campaign that he may draw potential voters away from the former president, essentially handing Biden the keys to a second term in the White House.
Both the Biden and Trump campaign teams are paying close attention to how Kennedy is progressing, particularly after managing to secure his name onto another state's ballot - this time in California.
The Golden State is the third state ballot Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan have officially qualified for - the others being Utah and Michigan.
California is the state with the most electoral college votes in the country.
The pair have also managed get enough signatures to access the ballot access in seven other states, including New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska and Iowa but they haven't yet been validated by elections officials.
The Kennedy team is now said to be looking to get on the ballot in New York.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., running as an independent candidate, is now on the ballot in California - his third state along with Utah and Michigan
Despite polling around 8.5%, Kennedy's presence worries both major parties, with Trump and Biden strategists concerned about his potential impact
Kennedy is seen during a recent campaign rally along side his actress wife, Cheryl Hines
Kennedy had been running as a Democrat but last fall switched his ticket to run as an independent and is aiming to appear on state ballots right across the country in a bid to take on President Biden and former President Trump arguing both are unfit to serve.
Although his campaign is aiming to pull together signatures from all 50 states before the deadline, experts have suggested that Kennedy would only need a handful of key battleground states in order to have potential impact to the result on election day.
A recent poll by The Hill suggests Kennedy has nearly 8.5 percent of the vote and is far behind Trump was polling at just over 42 percent while Biden is close at 41 percent.
Depending on the poll, Trump is between one and four points ahead of Biden nationwide, including in most battleground states.
But NewsNation is suggesting that with RFK would likely be taking away votes from Trump leaving Biden to come out in front with a two-point lead.
Even with less than 10 percent of the vote, RFK Jr.'s very presence is irking Donald Trump who posted a rant on Truth Social last week
The outlet suggests that voters who may have been more likely to vote Trump will switch to Kennedy, more so than voters who were likely to vote Biden.
Third-party and independent candidates face long odds in a U.S. political system largely built around two major parties.
Biden's campaign team is seeing RFK Jr.'s presence in the race as a threat and have put together team of full-time staffers dedicated to highlighting the contrast between the president and Kennedy.
Kennedy, known for his anti-vaccine advocacy, has used podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience and social media in a bid to attract younger voters dissatisfied by the choice between Biden and Trump, who are 81 and 77 years old, respectively.
Although Kennedy would
