CBS News
Map shows where RFK Jr. is on the ballot in the 2024 election
Washington — Unlike the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has faced a costly and time-consuming process to appear on general election ballots as an independent candidate.
Rules vary from state to state, but independent candidates typically have to collect thousands of signatures or be supported by a minor party in order to apply for ballot access.
Kennedy opted to run as an independent last October, abandoning his Democratic primary bid. Since then, Democrats and Republicans have questioned whether the independent candidate would pull support from their voters.
Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said in a recent interview on the “Impact Theory” podcast that she and Kennedy are considering ending their campaign and backing former President Donald Trump. Shanahan said their presence in the race risks helping elect Vice President Kamala Harris “because we draw votes from Trump.”
“He’s a well-known name,” said Dan Mallinson, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg. “He’s different than a lot of other third-party candidates that run.”
Matt Slocum / AP
So far, Kennedy is on the ballot in two of the seven battleground states — Michigan and North Carolina. Recent CBS News estimates show Harris and Trump are statistically tied in those two states, with Kennedy having 2% support.
“Some of these states are such tight margins that it can matter,” Mallinson said.
Democrats saw a bump after swapping their nominee from President Biden to Harris, largely coming from voters who had previously expressed support for Kennedy, according to a Pew Research Center poll.
Polling from Marquette Law School found that when independent candidates were included on the ballot question, Trump had a slightly larger drop in support than Harris. In an Emerson College poll, Harris’ and Trump’s support evenly decreased by two points with third-party candidates on the ballot. Kennedy’s support dropped in recent months in both polls.
It’s typical of third-party candidates to see their poll numbers drop as it gets closer to Election Day, according to Matthew Foster, a professor at American University.
“When you’re polling months beforehand, people’s choices are a bit mushy,” he said. “They’re more willing to support a third-party candidate at that moment. But when the election comes down to the wire and it really becomes time for the decision, they tend to go either Republican or Democrat.”
Kennedy’s campaign claims to have secured enough signatures in every state and Washington, D.C., except for Kentucky, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Wyoming.
In the map below, states where Kennedy’s campaign says it has met the threshold to appear on the ballot but are still awaiting official confirmation are light blue.
So far, about half of states — those that are dark blue on the map — have confirmed that he will appear on the November ballot.
New York is the only state where he failed to qualify after a judge said Kennedy falsely claimed a New York residence on his nominating petitions. Kennedy is appealing the decision.
Even if he ends up on a majority of ballots, “he won’t make any impact if it’s not the battlegrounds,” Foster said.
- Alaska
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Washington
- West Virginia
Where RFK Jr.’s ballot status is awaiting official confirmation:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Washington, D.C.
- Wisconsin
States where he will not be on the ballot:
- New York
Costco is recalling packages of salmon over concerns they could be contaminated with listeria.
Acme Smoked Fish Corp, the shopping club’s salmon provider, sent a notice to Costco shoppers this week informing them of the recall of Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon, due to potential contamination with listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
The notice was sent to customers who Costco records show purchased affected fish products between October 9-13. Only packages from lot number 8512801270 are affected.
Customers who purchased the recalled salmon are instructed not to eat it and to return it to a Costco store for a full refund.
“We regret this unfortunate incident and have taken immediate corrective steps to ensure that this issue never happens again,” Acme Smoked Fish Corp. CEO Eduardo Carbajosa said.
CBS News
Biden administration rolls out new student debt plan, this time aimed at people with big debts
The Biden administration’s efforts to erase student debt for the 46 million Americans who are carrying college loans have repeatedly hit legal roadblocks. Now, the Department of Education is rolling out a new plan that could provide debt relief to 8 million borrowers who are suffering from financial hardships.
The new plan, unveiled Friday, would provide loan relief for approximately 8 million people with student loans who are suffering financial distress caused by other debts, ranging from medical expenses to costs due to a natural disaster. The Education Department said the proposed rules will be published in the Federal Register in the next few weeks, and that it expects to finalize the regulations in 2025.
President Joe Biden made delivering debt relief to people with student loans a key policy issue of his 2020 campaign, but Republican-led states have sued to block many of those efforts, while the Supreme Court in 2023 ruled 6-3 against his plan to erase up to $20,000 in debt for millions of borrowers.
At the same time, Americans are holding more than $1.7 trillion in student loans, a debt load that has impaired their ability to save or buy a home, among other issues.
“For far too long, our student loan system has made it too difficult for borrowers experiencing hardships, often financial hardships, to access relief,” Education Department Miguel Cardona said on a call with reporters. “It’s not fair, it’s not right and it’s not who we are as Americans.”
How people would get relief
Under the proposal, there would be two ways borrowers could qualify for the debt relief. Some people with student loans could receive forgiveness without an application, with the Education Secretary providing one-time relief to borrowers whom the agency determines have an 80% chance of being in default within two years, Cardona said.
“A big reason why we’re fighting for student debt relief is to address the more than 1 million defaults we see annually in the student loan system,” he said.
The second pathway for loan relief would provide forgiveness after borrowers fill out an application, with the department assessing 17 factors such as the applicant’s overall debt balance, household income, and whether their student loan payments are keeping them from affording basics like housing or health care.
“Financing a college education is supposed to help students climb the economic ladder, not leave them buried in a ditch,” Cardona said.
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