RFK Jr.’s daunting task: How he’s relying on volunteers to get him on SC’s ballot

On Thanksgiving, Sam Sipe brought up a topic that usually is a no-no for dinner during gatherings on the fourth Thursday of November. She brought up politics.

Specifically, she made her pitch to a handful of friends and family members to sign a petition to help get Robert Kennedy Jr. on South Carolina’s 2024 presidential ballot.

“When you talk about Kennedy and explain Kennedy’s positions to people, they’re much more likely to at least want to give Kennedy a chance,” Sipe said. “This is what this is about. We’re kind of saying, let’s give someone else a chance rather than the duopoly. You’re not throwing away your primary vote (by giving) a signature to put him on the ballot. You’re just giving someone a chance.”

Sipe is part of a group of volunteers in South Carolina working to gather the necessary 10,000 valid and active voter signatures for Kennedy to secure a spot on the state’s 2024 presidential ballot.

But the volunteers are aiming to get two to three times the necessary number to account for signatures that will be thrown out because they’re not valid.

Kennedy earlier this year ran for the Democratic nomination but then opted to run as an independent — a path that could see him take votes away in the general election from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who are the favorites to win their parties’ nominations.

Kennedy believes it’s a strategy that could lead to pluralities in enough states to help him garner 270 electoral votes and win the White House.

“I don’t need to win majorities. I just need to get up to about 37%, and that will put me ahead of the other two contenders. And if I can do that in enough states … I will win,” Kennedy told a crowd in Columbia, South Carolina, in November. “I’m in better shape than any independent for 100 years.”

He points to his support from young voters and polling showing he’s receiving more than 20% support in some battleground states, including Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

But Kennedy winning South Carolina in a general election is probably a long shot. The ruby-red state voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 and propelled Biden to the Democratic nomination in 2020.

Clearing hurdles to get on state ballots

But just to get his name on any state’s ballots, Kennedy needs to gather enough signatures, with each state having its own requirements for third-party and independent candidates to qualify.

In South Carolina, Kennedy bypassed paying the $20,000 fee to appear on the Democratic primary ballot and opted to gather 10,000 valid and active voter signatures to appear as an independent on the general election ballot.

When those signatures are turned in, each county will review them to make sure they are valid, the S.C. State Election Commission said. In order to prepare for signatures to be thrown out, the commission recommends campaigns collect 20% more than required.

Gathering the signatures is a daunting task, and the Kennedy campaign — which has polled at 22% in national surveys of a three-candidate race — is relying solely on the work of volunteers, not paid canvassers.

“We’re building an army. And you know, we’re gonna get on the ballot,” Kennedy told reporters last month. “We’re gonna use volunteers to get on the ballot, and then we’re gonna have an army in place in November, like no other campaign. We’re gonna have a lot of people that are highly motivated on the ground.”

Kennedy has said he is confident he’ll be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“We have begun signature collection in many of the open states,” said Kennedy Press Secretary Stefanie Spear. “We have a robust ballot-access and legal team, and Kennedy’s name will be on the ballot in all 50 states.”

Kennedy may be keeping the overhead costs low in his signature gathering effort, but a super PAC supporting his campaign is spending millions on the effort.

American Values 2024 is spending $10 million to $15 million to gather signatures in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Texas to get Kennedy on the ballot.

“We have chosen to pursue these critical states, some of them battlegrounds, due to the complexity of the state election codes and the volume of signatures necessary to achieve ballot access. A successful ballot access initiative ensures Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as an option for president of the United States,” said Deirdre Golffard, the special counsel for ballot access.

How will Democrats, GOP approach Kennedy being a voter option

If Kennedy makes it onto enough states’ ballots, he could be a formidable third-party candidate with a famous name from a political family dynasty.

Polling has shown Kennedy receiving double-digit support nationally and doing well in battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, Pennylvania and Michigan. And polling shows that Kennedy would be likely to sway more votes away from Trump than Biden.

South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick said he is confident Kennedy’s presence won’t change the expected results in the Palmetto State.

“We’re a solid conservative state, and we’ve proven that election after election, and getting more conservative,” McKissick said.

The state GOP, however, indicated how the party might try to paint Kennedy in a general election in order to dampen the scion’s impact on votes.

McKissick said most of the attention Kennedy receives is over his disagreement with the Democratic Party and President Biden over vaccines and COVID-19. It’s an area where Kennedy may agree with many Republicans and conservatives.

“As soon as he gets out there and runs in a general election, that kind of stuff will be underlined and bold faced, (but) he’s just another Democrat liberal who happens to have some disagreements with President Biden,” McKissick said.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison, a South Carolinian, said Democrats’ strategy will remain the same no matter if Kennedy or other third-party candidates such as a No Labels candidate makes enough ballots.

“Our strategy is our strategy regardless if there’s an independent on the ballot or whether that is just a Republican Party,” Harrison said. “We talk to the base of our party. We’re going to appeal to independents in the country and show them the track record that Joe Biden has in terms of delivering for the nation and push to build the infrastructure to educate, mobilize, and get those people to turn out. So we’re not changing our strategy moving forward, regardless of who’s on the ballot.”

Kennedy’s volunteers will be key

Ultimately, in South Carolina, the volunteers have to truly believe in Kennedy for their effort to work.

Those volunteers include Sonya Hoffman, a 50-year-old respiratory therapist from Calhoun County who is a former Trump supporter.

“(Trump) was not truthful about some things that occurred during COVID. I learned of that again before Mr. Kennedy came on the scene.. I didn’t know what I was going to end up doing for Mr. Kennedy,” Hoffman said.

“So why Kennedy over Trump? (Because) he’s authentic,” Hoffman added. “Anybody who can get away from these sound bites that they slur him with, and the propaganda and the CIA conspiracy theories … if somebody could just just get past that, just for 10 minutes to listen to one of his podcasts, I guarantee you nine out of 10 of those people will be voting for him.”

Sipe, the 33-year-old Aiken County stay-at-home mom, said she previously supported Vermont independent Bernie Sanders, who sought the Democratic nomination in 2016 and 2020.

“Bernie Sanders never really talked about coming together as a group of people. There was always an enemy. There were bad guys, and it was never about healing the divide,” Sipe said. “Trump was crazy, and his voters were crazy, and then in the end, Bernie kneeled to the establishment.

“But Kennedy, I don’t think he’ll do that. … He hasn’t been with the government. Bernie was a career politician. So in my opinion, I think (Kennedy’s) more authentic. He won’t bow to the establishment, and he’s the only person talking about bringing people together.”