The pool of presidential candidates in Illinois expanded Monday and now includes five new names in addition to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Among them the Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The campaign filed its nomination papers — which campaign officials say contain more than 60,000 signatures — with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Monday afternoon.
If the Board of Elections confirms the validity of the papers, Illinois would become the ninth confirmed state to make it independent on the ballot.
Kennedy Jr., cousin of President John F. Kennedy and son of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, sought to secure the Democratic Party’s nominee over Biden. After losing that bid to the presumptive nominee, he embarked on an independent run in October.
More: The intra-party power struggle is leading to the Illinois GOP chairman resigning
RFK supporters Sean Phillips and Kirsten Bonanza of Springfield are seen as underdogs in the election now four months away and see the candidate as a necessary change of pace from Biden and Trump.
“Most of the way I create my life is by asking the question, ‘What will my life look like in five years if I make this choice?’… And when I ask that about him (RFK), it’s just off the hook,” said Bonanza, one of about 30 supporters who gathered outside the board of elections office in Springfield. “Bobby Kennedy is a statesman, while the rest are just politicians.”
Phillips added that Kennedy Jr.’s ideas for tackling the border crisis and tackling the national debt had received his support. Yet the Kennedy political family is not behind him and is instead urging voters to support Biden. Gov. JB Pritzker, a Biden surrogate, previously told CNN that Democrats who support anyone other than Biden are “throwing away” their vote.
Kennedy is trying to secure access to ballots in all fifty states, but objections have been filed in four states this month. Both Biden and Trump rejected challenges in Illinois to have their names appear on the November ballot earlier this year.
Who else is running?
Filing papers for Kennedy to become president included Green Party candidate Jill Stein and two Illinois residents: Christopher Cisco of Piper City and Heather Lynn Stone of Peoria. The independent Cornel West did not make the selection.
Former gubernatorial candidate Scott Schluter filed paperwork for the Libertarian ticket. However, state party executive director Justin Tucker confirmed to The State Journal-Register that Schluter is a placeholder for former Georgia Senate candidate Chase Oliver, who is the party’s official nominee.
Having a replacement candidate is necessary, Tucker said, because the party’s petition drive began after the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominating convention, held over Memorial Day weekend. Oliver’s name will appear on the ballot, not Schluter’s.
Objections against candidates submitted between June 17 and June 24 can now be submitted until next Monday. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, and early voting begins on September 26.
Contact Patrick M. Keck: pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.
This article originally appeared in State Journal-Register: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is trying to enter the presidential race in Illinois
