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Will RFK make Wisconsin's ballot?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supporters start the petition to get him on Wisconsin's ballot as an independent presidential candidate. Will it help or hurt Democrats or Republicans?
MILWAUKEE - It's not just Democrat-versus-Republican on your ballots. One familiar name – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – is trying to get on Wisconsin's ballot as an independent candidate. The month-long process to get enough signatures kicked off July 1.
Could RFK swing the outcome?
In a state where the last two presidential elections have been decided by less than 1% – about 20,000 votes – RFK Jr. could have a big impact.
The latest Marquette University Law School poll, conducted before President Biden and former President Trump debated, showed RFK getting about 8% of the state, pulling equal shares from both Democrats and Republicans – around 6% of each party.
When factoring just Joe Biden and Donald Trump head-to-head, the Marquette poll found a tie among registered Wisconsin voters. But when including third-party candidates – like Kennedy and the Green Party's Jill Stein – Trump took a three-point lead.
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Marquette poll: Biden, Trump tied among registered Wisconsin voters
President Biden and former President Trump are tied among registered Wisconsin voters in the latest Marquette Law School Poll, released Wednesday.
Support for RFK
July 1 was the first day campaign volunteers could start collecting signatures in Wisconsin. They have a little over a month to collect 2,000 signatures.
As people basked in the sun at Milwaukee's Bradford Beach on Wednesday, Kennedy supporters tried to get him on the ballot with a tent, table, signs, pens and petitions.
"I’ve never done anything like this, but I really feel like I have to step up," said Jean Collins. As a young voter, she once voted for President John F. Kennedy – the uncle of RFK Jr. Now, she's volunteering to help get another Kennedy elected.
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"I vote for the person that aligns with my conscience, always. And I’m old, so I’ve seen a lot of politicians and Bobby Kennedy is the first one I’ve seen that I can trust and admire," Collins added.
One challenge these volunteers will meet is people thinking a third-party vote could be a "waste."
"I would say look at the news cycle. If we had two tangible candidates, two strong candidates, that would be a favorable argument," said RFJ Jr. volunteer Raynard Baker.
Raynard Baker and Jean Collins collect signatures to get Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wisconsin's ballot
Baker voted for Trump in 2020, Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Democrats before then. He is going with Kennedy this time.
"I’ve never done anything like this, had any sort of engagement like this in the past," he said. "I am deeply and strongly driven to do everything I can to get him elected.
"I think I’m the voice representing people who have voted before but done so with distaste in their mouth."
Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have criticized Kennedy, as both sides see the threat this candidate could have in what was already expected to be a razor-close election.