No Way, RFK!

Third-party presidential candidates are akin to characters of American folklore- bold individuals with unique ideas, often entering the cultural landscape with the distinct vigor and verbosity our nation needs at a particular moment in history. While their morals may be decent and qualifications sufficient, they often serve primarily as an ironic upset for their most similar opponent, fading into a lonely obscurity that exists outside the remaining partisan retirement community.

Once an active cycle concludes, few will be remembered beyond obscure pub trivia questions and political science class projects, becoming hypothetical projections of historical what-ifs and could-have-been. Ross Perot came perhaps the closest to Pennsylvania Avenue in 1992, when he qualified for the general election debate against Bill Clinton and George HW Bush but clinched just 19% of the popular vote. While it wasn’t enough to advance Perot himself to the Presidency, many speculate the businessman did enough damage to the incumbent Bush campaign as to push Clinton over the finish line.

As much of an outsider as a Kennedy can be, Robert Jr has done an impressive job posturing for President, but it looks as though he may not qualify to debate under newly amended requirements. Activist groups claim he is being unfairly prohibited from participating and that doing so may actually violate federal campaign finance laws.

2024’s debates will mark the first time in over 35 years that such contests have not been presided over by the non-partisan Commission for Presidential Debates. Rather, control now falls to individual hosting networks at the behest of the Republican and Democratic National Committees. Able to create new criteria and rules wholesale, CNN and ABC must be incredibly cautious not to overstep established campaign laws in pursuit of programming (or worse, political) goals. Rumors circulating the Beltway claim that the networks had to promise both presumptive major party nominees that no third contender would be allowed access to the event to guarantee their involvement. If true, both ABC and CNN have created a moral- and legal- situation that grants additional airtime to specific candidates without regard for federal campaigning guidelines.

Other media outlets may also be adding to the unfair bent against Kennedy with their procedure. For example, RFKJr scores just 1% in the New York Times poll despite earning closer to 8-10% in other respected national rankings. However, the NYT only asked whether the respondents would vote for Joe Biden or Donald Trump if the election were held today, meaning Kennedy’s 1% is comprised of write-in type support. This sort of exclusion eviscerates his chances of qualifying under the polling section of criteria, tanking his national average.

Without at least the illusion of third-party participation, the American political system becomes an Election Industrial Complex churning out predestined candidates under the guise of informed democracy. Neither major party can be allowed to seize control of the mechanisms of nomination without entirely transparent participation from the electorate. Alongside the Democrat’s push to eradicate the US caucus system in favor of state-run primaries and the shifting of nominating convention procedure, the American Voter is increasingly disenfranchised. It is left to individuals of all affiliations to oversee these figures to whom we have granted great power and not allow a select elite to run roughshod over centuries of sacred election protocol.

Should Robert F Kennedy Jr be allowed to participate in the upcoming Presidential debates? Could his participation significantly impact the outcome of the election?

Hilary Gunn is a Connecticut native with a degree in Criminal Justice from the George Washington University. She works for a nonprofit and has previously collaborated with the CT GOP as an activist, political campaign manager and field director, and social media organizer. She is currently serving in her fourth term of municipal office and has previously acted as a delegate on the Republican Town Committee.