RFK Jr. presidential bid on the ballot in November, pending challenge period

The Robert F. Kennedy Jr. campaign completed the final step to appear on Nevada’s ballot in November, but it faces one final hurdle.

“We are well aware that the largest block of registered voters in the state of Nevada are independent, and now they have a candidate,” said Jon Du Pre, Kennedy’s Nevada campaign director. “It’s good to have a choice.”

The environmental lawyer’s independent presidential campaign turned in the necessary paperwork Monday afternoon, according to its campaign. The Nevada Secretary of State’s office confirmed it received Kennedy’s declaration of candidacy.

While Kennedy’s campaign completed the necessary steps with the secretary of state’s office and county clerks, his appearance on the ballot next to former president Donald Trump — and presumably Vice President Kamala Harris — is not a done deal yet.

The application must go through a challenge period. Any person can challenge the candidacy of an independent presidential candidate, according to Nevada law. The challenge must be filed with the District Court in Carson City no later than 5 p.m. on Aug. 27, according to a memo sent from the secretary of state’s office to county clerks and registrars.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s. Independent Candidate for US President and Vice President Petition-Declaration of C... by Jessica Hill on Scribd

The secretary of state’s office confirmed his campaign submitted the required number of valid signatures in order to appear on the ballot in the end of July. The last step was submitting the names of the six primary and six alternative electors that would certify the election for Kennedy if he were to win.

Kennedy’s independent presidential bid had run into some roadblocks as it worked to gather signatures to appear on states’ ballots across the country.

In June, state and national Democrats backed a legal challenge filed in Carson City District Court to keep him off the November ballot in Nevada, and Kennedy’s campaign has submitted signatures twice in order to appear on the ballot.

The campaign had filed enough signatures in March but did not list a running mate, which state law requires for independent presidential candidates. Kennedy’s campaign filed a lawsuit against the state because of it, and also restarted its signature collecting process.

He and his running mate Nicole Shanahan are also officially on the ballot in 15 states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Alaska, Indiana, Colorado and Iowa, according to its campaign in a Monday morning statement.

Kennedy visited Las Vegas in July, attending the FreedomFest and pleading his case for the presidency.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.