Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files as presidential candidate in Utah, the first state to grant him access

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has filed to run as a presidential candidate in Utah after meeting the 1,000-signature requirement needed to qualify. Utah is the first state where Kennedy’s campaign submitted signatures and qualified for ballot access. The son of former senator and U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic for his embrace of public health conspiracy theories. Kennedy’s success at gaining ballot access in Utah reignites questions of whether the independent could play spoiler for the eventual Democratic and Republican nominees. Kennedy, who is running as an independent, is the nephew of Democratic President John F. Kennedy.