‘He’s a conspiracy theorist’: Internet divided as Robert F Kennedy Jr to be listed on Michigan's ballot in November

LANSING, MICHIGAN: The Michigan Secretary of State's Office has confirmed that independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr will be listed as an option in the state's November 5 election, after he and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, were nominated for president and vice president respectively by the Natural Law Party, according to the New York Post.

This development is likely to make it more challenging for President Joe Biden to retain Michigan on the Democratic Party's behalf in the upcoming general election.

The 70-year-old presidential hopeful was found to be polling at 13% in the state, per a survey conducted earlier this month by Marketing Resource Group.

Where does Michigan stand on Trump, Biden, RFK Jr, and others?

In a five-way contest, former President Donald Trump received 37% support, while President Joe Biden garnered 34%, according to the aforementioned survey.

The Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 2%, and the independent candidate Cornel West got 1%.

The survey also indicated that Kennedy Jr secured a higher number of votes than Biden among self-proclaimed independent voters, placing the incumbent POTUS in third position with 21% support from this demographic, behind RFK Jr’s 22%. Trump was leading with 33%. 

Kennedy's popularity among so-called "double-haters," referring to potential voters who dislike both Biden and Trump, was found to be at 40%, with the 45th President trailing at 11%, and Biden at 10%.

These results suggest that Kennedy's inclusion on the ballot may impact the outcome of the Michigan election and that the Democratic Party may need to rethink its campaign strategy for the state.

Doug Dern, Chair of the Natural Law Party of Michigan, issued a statement regarding their general election candidates, “He’s the most qualified candidate in the modern-day history of America. We welcome Mr Kennedy and Ms Shanahan to the party.”

Kennedy 2024 Western Michigan regional coordinator Bill Costantino remarked, “Kennedy is good for Michigan. As an environmental champion for more than 40 years, Kennedy will work to restore our Great Lakes region, which holds 20% of the world’s fresh water. He will ensure a thriving fishing economy and ecosystem for commercial fishermen and individual anglers.”

On Sunday night, Kennedy Jr was set to celebrate his ballot success by hosting a comedy show in Royal Oak, a Detroit suburb, featuring Rob Schneider of ‘Saturday Night Live’ fame as the headline act.

President Joe Biden had won Michigan with a narrow margin of fewer than 155,000 votes out of over 5.5 million ballots cast in 2020, and was already facing the arduous task of retaining the state's 15 electoral votes.

This challenge was compounded by the fact that more than 100,000 people had cast "uncommitted" ballots in the February 27 Democratic primary to protest the commander-in-chief's handling of the war in the Middle East.

Kennedy's campaign is working towards getting his name on the ballot in all 50 states, which is a tough ask considering the different qualifications required for each contest.

According to Kennedy's team, he is already on the ballot in Utah and has enough signatures to qualify in Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, and North Carolina.

The independent’s campaign press secretary Stefanie Spear said, “We have the field teams, volunteers, legal teams, paid circulators, supporters, and strategists ready to get the job done.”

She added, “We are exceeding all our benchmarks and will announce new states each week.”

RFK Jr's campaign has focused on his anti-Covid vaccine, anti-war, and environmental policies, while also taking shots at both President Joe Biden and former POTUS Donald Trump.

Both leading party candidates have had their supporters attack Kennedy - with Trump's super PAC, Make American Great Again Inc., releasing a "Radical F-ing Kennedy" website and more than a dozen Kennedy family members endorsing President Joe Biden.

Internet divided as RFK Jr set to be on Michigan's ballot come November

Various social media users posted varied reactions to Robert F Kennedy Jr being on the ballot in Michigan in November.

One X user remarked, "RFK Jr = Hard. Pass."

Another user said, "Robert Kennedy Jr. promoted anti-vaccine misinformation and public health conspiracy theories. He is the chairman and founder of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group. Lock him up with Trump for genocide on his own people."

Another user wrote, "He’s a fricking conspiracy theorist. More MAGA leaning than anything else. Anti vaxx too. Hard to believe Dems or Independents would vote for him. As Nov gets close, all this will be well advertised. Vote blue!"

One user claimed, "Good I hope he makes it in all 50."

Another X user asserted, "If he gets on my states ballot im 100% voting for him."

Finally, this user tweeted, "I think he would be a great president. But just like Trump, he is not “popular” in that crowd. I wish Kennedy would have picked someone else for VP, but I get how the game works when you are a significant underdog."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.