The super PAC backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential bid recently revealed this week that it has gathered enough signatures in Arizona and Georgia to get its man on the ballot.
Although great news for Kennedy, the prospect of more competition in critical swing states has prompted Biden boosters in the liberal media to fret, CNN commentator Van Jones in particular.
What’s the background?
Tony Lyons, co-founder of the super PAC American Values 24, said in a
statement Tuesday, “We are pleased to announce that AV24 has met the signature requirements to get Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot in Arizona and Georgia.”
“The grassroots energy and momentum give us more confidence than ever in our ability to knock out the remaining states on our list of states quickly,” continued Lyons. “The remaining states are Michigan, South Carolina, Maryland, California, West Virginia, Indiana, Texas, Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts.”
Lyons
told CNN the PAC has not yet submitted the signatures to elections offices in the two states but will do so when appropriate and in compliance with FEC guidelines.
This news prompted CNN talking head Erin Burnett to consider past polling data indicating what a three-way matchup between former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and Kennedy in Arizona and Georgia might look like.
Swing state concerns
Polls presently show former President Donald Trump leading Biden in both
Georgia and Arizona by several points — both states the geriatric Democrat reportedly won in 2020. However, the New York Times/Siena College poll cited by Burnett, which was published in November, found that when presented with the options of Trump, Biden, and Kennedy, 36% of Georgia respondents said they were leaning toward Trump, 29% said Biden, and 24% said Kennedy.
Kennedy apparently had a 12-point lead over Biden among respondents in the 18-19 age group and a 10-point lead among respondents who were neither white nor black.
When
asked the same question in Arizona, 33% of likely voters said Trump, 33% said Biden, and 26% said Kennedy. Again, Kennedy performed far better than Biden with the 18-29 age group, leading the president by 15 points. Kennedy also led Biden 33% to 27% among the 30-44 age group.
There are some indications Kennedy’s success may hurt Biden and help Trump.
A recent Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey has Trump leading Biden
46-43 in a head-to-head matchup. However, the same survey revealed that in a five-way matchup where Kennedy was in the mix along with Cornel West and Jill Stein, Kennedy grabbed eight points and the other two leftists each picked up one point, leaving Trump with a 43-37 lead over Biden.
Jones’ broken heart
With such polling data in mind, Burnett suggested to Jones that Kennedy might decide which of the two presidents will come out victorious in these critical swing states.
Jones, the CNN contributor who
cried happy tears after Biden was named the victor in the 2020 election, told Burnett, “If you understand basic math, this is a shock wave through the Democratic party because it takes a lot less than the amount of support he’s got — especially among young people — to throw this whole thing [for] Biden.”
“We can lose some states, but we can’t lose many,” said Jones. “We’re going to have a tough enough time in Georgia, we’re going to have a tough enough time in Arizona anyway, but this is a big deal. This is a very big deal, and I think, for me, my heart breaks.”
Kennedy, who has
yet to be granted Secret Service protection, may be able to hamstring Kennedy in states besides Arizona and Georgia. CNN indicated that Kennedy is presently on the ballot in Utah and that AV24 also has enough signatures for him to appear on the ballots in New Hampshire and Hawaii.
Jones added that if Kennedy does not “have a pathway to win the White House, and I don’t think that he’s going to be on enough ballots to win the White House, then you shouldn’t be doing this because you can only hurt Joe Biden and hand the country over to Donald Trump.”
Responding to Jones’ remarks, Kennedy
wrote on X, “They can’t ignore us anymore. We’re gaining momentum and building a movement to heal America.”
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