Kennedy Fails to Qualify for CNN Debate

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify for the CNN presidential debate on June 27 by the network’s Thursday deadline, according to the outlet, a significant blow to his independent presidential bid that will deny him a coveted national stage alongside President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump.

Qualifying for the CNN debate, one of two presidential debates scheduled before Election Day, would have been a plum prize for the Kennedy campaign. More than 73 million people watched the first debate between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump in 2020, and Mr. Kennedy would have had the opportunity to confront his opponents in front of an extensive national audience.

No third-party or independent presidential candidate has been on the national debate stage since 1992, when the Texas billionaire Ross Perot’s self-funded campaign gained enough momentum to earn him a spot alongside President George Bush and Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas in three debates in the final weeks before the election.

But Mr. Kennedy failed to meet two criteria. In the face of mounting challenges before the deadline, Mr. Kennedy had accused CNN of colluding with the Biden and Trump campaigns to exclude him from the debate, and filed a complaint to the Federal Election Commission accusing the network of violating campaign finance law.

CNN has denied those accusations. Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump have a mutual interest in keeping Mr. Kennedy off the debate stage, as he is drawing support away from both candidates — and both campaigns are concerned about the potential for him to swing the election in key battleground states.

To qualify, Mr. Kennedy needed to earn at least 15 percent support in four approved national polls. By Thursday, however, he had only three such