Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign downplays polling, fundraising, ballot access woes

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s longshot presidential bid has hit several roadblocks in recent days: after not hitting polling thresholds and not being on enough state ballots, he will not be on this week’s presidential debate stage.

The latest fundraising reports show the campaign does not have a lot of money in the bank, but Kennedy’s campaign manager and daughter-in-law Amaryllis Fox Kennedy is not worried about the prospects for the future of the campaign.

In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, she insists there will be a “three-way debate” Thursday, falsely claiming that the independent presidential candidate met the criteria published by CNN to appear on the debate stage alongside President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

The media outlet’s qualifications included a requirement that a candidate have at least 15% support in four polls from certain high-quality pollsters and appear on enough state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to actually win the presidency.

RFK Jr. met neither, and the campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission arguing that this week’s debate is illegal without his inclusion, even suggesting that CNN staffers could face prosecution if it were to happen.

Kennedy earned at least 15% in three qualifying polls, but his support has dropped recently: the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll showed Kennedy at 11% and a recent Fox News poll had him at 10%.

According to the latest press release from the campaign, Kennedy is officially on the ballot in eight states: Utah (6), Michigan (15), California (54), Delaware (3), Oklahoma (7), Hawaii (4), Texas (40) and South Carolina (9), which only accounts for 138 electoral votes, well short of what is required.

Even then,