(Columbia) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify for next Thursday's presidential debate in Atlanta, according to host CNN.
In particular, the independent candidate for the US presidential elections is excluded because he does not have sufficient voting intent at the ballot boxes. Therefore, the June 27 debate will take place only between Democratic President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Mr. Kennedy is thus deprived of a unique opportunity to stand alongside the major candidates in the hope of legitimizing his long-heralded candidacy and convincing his potential supporters that he will have a chance of winning in November.
MM teams. Biden and Trump fear that Robert Kennedy will muddy the waters in what is expected to be a very close presidential election in the United States.
In addition to CNN's polling criteria, candidates are invited to the debate if they also secure a place on the ballot in states that have at least 270 Electoral College votes, the minimum required to win the presidency of the United States.
millimeter. Biden and Trump easily passed the intention-to-vote test, but they will not be presidential candidates until their parties formally nominate them later this summer. But both candidates received enough delegates to secure their nomination.
Mr. Kennedy's team asserts that the independent candidate met the requirements to appear on the ballot in 22 states, with a total of 310 Electoral College votes; But not all of these states have officially confirmed his name is on the ballot. The state of California, the largest on the electoral map with 54 votes, will not “endorse” any candidate before August 29.
Candidates also had to have at least 15% voting intentions in four reliable national polls before June 20, another benchmark Kennedy did not reach, CNN confirms. According to the news channel, the independent candidate has received at least 15% in three of those polls so far, and is currently on the electoral rolls in six states, which will give him access to only 89 votes in the electoral college.
Mr. Kennedy filed an election complaint last month alleging that CNN colluded with the other candidates to exclude him from the June 27 debate. He emphasized that the conditions for participation in the discussion were designed to ensure MM only. Biden and Trump will qualify and claim to be held to a higher standard.
CNN said the complaint was baseless. Mr. Kennedy's campaign team did not immediately respond to a message on Thursday seeking comment on the CNN ad and asking whether it planned to take further action regarding his exclusion.
Last month, M. Biden and Trump agreed to participate in the debate on CNN on June 27 and in a second debate on September 10 organized by ABC, bypassing the non-partisan committee that organized these debates for nearly forty years in the United States.
