RFK Jr. secures 2,000 signatures to get on the presidential ballot in Idaho

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, announced that his campaign had gathered enough signatures to secure his spot on the Idaho ballot, marking his sixth win in nationwide ballot access.

Kennedy, who recently announced Nicole Shanahan, a California-based attorney and entrepreneur, as his running mate in his long-shot bid for the White House, gathered over 2,000 signatures in Idaho—twice the number needed for a presidential candidate to secure ballot access in the state.

Just last month, Kennedy's campaign succeeded in its lawsuit against Idaho over what it said was an unconstitutional signature deadline. As a result of the lawsuit, the state legislature passed a bill moving the deadline to August.

In addition to the Gem State, he's already collected enough signatures to get on the ballot in Hawaii, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada and Utah.

His campaign has pledged to get “Bobby on the ballot” in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in time for the general election on Nov. 5, but doing so won’t be easy.

The campaign has already been collecting signatures in 18 additional states that require a running mate for ballot access, including Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont and Virginia.

He's also launched a new political party called "We the People" in another attempt to get on the ballot in six states. His supporters have filed political party paperwork in California, Delaware, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas.

Initially running as a Democrat, similar to the Kennedy dynasty, he switched parties to run as an independent. He has been criticizing Biden, calling him "a much worse threat to democracy" than Trump during an interview with CNN on Monday.

Campaign press secretary Stefanie Spear said the team will continue to fight for ballot access nationwide until the general election.

“We have the field teams, volunteers, legal teams, paid circulators, supporters, and strategists ready to get the job done,” Spear said in a statement.

A Quinnipiac poll taken in late March revealed when the presidential race includes independent and Green Party candidates, Trump receives 39 percent support, Biden receives 38 percent support, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. receives 13 percent support, Green Party candidate Jill Stein receives 4 percent support, and independent candidate Cornel West receives 3 percent support.

Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, as @rachelbarber_

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. gets 2,000 signatures to get on Idaho presidential ballot