Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify for the first presidential debate hosted by CNN next week, officially setting up a one-on-one showdown between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
CNN published an article on Thursday morning The network’s window for candidates to meet criteria for the June 27 debate in Atlanta closes after midnight ET, he said, “with Biden and Trump reaching constitutional, ballot and voting thresholds.” A CNN spokeswoman confirmed that Kennedy was ineligible.
Kennedy had not reached CNN’s 15% threshold in at least four verified national polls, with only three before the deadline. He also failed to meet the network’s ballot criteria, which required candidates to secure access to enough states to win 270 electoral votes, a critical task for a third party at this stage in the election cycle.
According to an NBC News analysis, Kennedy is currently on the ballot in 10 states, but is held in pending status or application windows in several others.
Kennedy’s absence from the stage next week will be a blow to his long-term campaign as he tries to gain ground among the likely major party candidates.
Last month, Kennedy’s campaign a Complaint by the Federal Election Commission CNN and the Biden and Trump campaigns contended that their rigging of the June 27 presidential debate was illegal. Campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear said they were “considering” additional legal action ahead of debate night.
“President Trump has repeatedly said that he has no problem debating RFK Jr. and that he believes that any candidate who qualifies for the ballot should be allowed to make his case to the American electorate.” Democrats using financial and legal resources to prevent Joe Biden and RFK from getting on the ballot because they know RFK Jr. “He is a radical leftist who got more votes than Biden than President Trump.”
Kennedy has already used the possibility of being offstage to argue that the election was rigged against political outsiders, spending $100,000 in television ads for his campaign on the day of the debate.
Kennedy still has a chance to participate in the Sept. 10 debate on ABC News. This debate has the same ballot access and voting criteria as CNN, although it is unclear when the voting window will open. It would also give Kennedy extra time to secure more ballot access across the country.