The independent presidential campaigns of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West submitted thousands of signatures by Tuesday to secure a place on the 2024 presidential ballot in Georgia, meaning Peach State voters may see six choices on their ballot in November.
While the West campaign claimed on Monday it had already submitted the required number of ballots, Kennedy’s campaign was photographed submitting thousands of ballots on Tuesday, when Georgia Secretary of State official Gabriel Sterling confirmed the signatures have yet to be verified.
Sterling also confirmed that Socialist Party presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz submitted signatures to obtain ballot access.
Petitions are being dropped w/ @GaSecofState for @RobertKennedyJr today, along w/ Claudia de la Cruz, the socialist, & @CornelWest that were already dropped. The next step is for counties to verify signatures. #gapol pic.twitter.com/jc4niKCHPK
— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) July 9, 2024
If they are deemed to have submitted the required 7,500 valid signatures, Kennedy, West, and De la Cruz will appear on Georgia’s ballot in November alongside the presumptive party nominees, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, as well as Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver and Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein.
Polls tracked by Real Clear Polling show Biden trails Trump by 5.3 percent in Georgia in a race that includes Kennedy, West, and Stein. Trump receives the support of 43.8 percent of Georgia voters compared to 38.5 percent who support Biden.
The polling average suggests an additional 7.5 percent of Georgians support Kennedy, while 1.7 percent support West and 1 percent support Stein.
However, one poll released just prior to the debate, which showed Trump leading Biden by 5 percent, showed Kennedy at 9 percent of support among Georgia voters. Polling released after the debate suggested Kennedy rose to 10 percent nationally in the wake of Biden’s poor debate performance against Trump on June 27.
Georgia was additionally among the six battleground states the Cook Political Report claimed moved toward the former president after the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump since the 2020 election.
According to the Cook Political Report, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada are now considered to lean Republican after previously being considered toss ups. Minnesota, New Hampshire, and part of Nebraska are now additionally considered to lean Democratic, while they previously were considered likely wins for the Democrats.
While Democrats continue to discuss whether Biden should step aside in favor of another candidate, an analysis published by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project suggests the party could face legal challenges from conservatives should it attempt to find a replacement candidate without following Georgia law.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Photo “Cornel West” by Cornel West. Background Photo “Voting Booths” by Tim Evanson. CC BY-SA 2.0.
