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PRESIDENT
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: Still Could Qualify in 47 Domains
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr's. (I) campaign status is still not entirely clear. While he says he won't be on the ballot in battleground states, his campaign continues in others.
According to CBS News, Kennedy has current ballot status in 23 states, including the District of Columbia, and his petitions are pending in an additional 20 states. He has only been rejected in four: Arizona, New York, Ohio and Texas. An additional four – Kentucky, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Wyoming – report he is short of the minimum number of signatures needed for ballot access. Therefore, we can assume he will not pursue obtaining a ballot position in these states.
Of the commonly-considered battleground states, Kennedy has qualified in Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina. He is also qualified in Maine and Nebraska, where their congressional districts carry an electoral vote. While it is presumed he will come off the ballot in these places, will he accept ballot positions from any of the 20 states where the decision is pending? He has already withdrawn from Pennsylvania, but Georgia and Wisconsin are also in this category, and it is only a presumption that the decision has been made to exit in these places.
While much is assumed about the Kennedy withdrawal announcement, are all the final decisions made about where he will participate as a candidate and where he won't? It is apparently too soon to tell.
HOUSE
NJ-9: Candidates Announce
Candidates are announcing their intentions to participate in the special nominating convention to replace the late New Jersey US Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), who passed away last Wednesday.
Putting their name in nomination at the special convention will be Paterson Mayor André Sayegh, Speaker Pro Tempore Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), Assemblywoman
Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson), and State Senator Nellie Pou (D-Paterson).
The eventual nominee will replace Pascrell on the November ballot and face Republican nominee Billy Prempeh. The new Democratic nominee will become a heavy favorite to win the general election.
TX-18: Special Election Candidate Set
While former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is set to replace the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston) on the November general election ballot, he is not running to fill the unexpired term. The late Congresswoman's daughter, Erica Lee Carter, is the only candidate filing to fill the balance of her mother's term.
Governor Greg Abbott (R) scheduled the special election to run concurrently with the general election. Carter, upon official election, will then assume her mother's position until the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2025.
STATES
Alaska: Top Four Repeal on Ballot
The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the ballot proposition to repeal the state's top four jungle primary system and return to a partisan primary method will remain on the November ballot. If the measure is adopted, the top four system will be replaced in the 2026 election.
The 2024 races will continue under the current top four / Ranked Choice Voting guidelines. It remains to be seen if the people want the hybrid system to continue or return to typical partisan primaries. In 2020, the top four system was adopted with just 50.5% of the vote.
Editor's note: For resources on political action, including a downloadable Voter's Guide for Authentic Catholics provided by the Souls and Liberty Action Network, click here.
Jim Ellis is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels. He has served ss executive director for two national political action committees, as well as a consultant to the three national Republican Party organizations in DC, the National Federation of Independent Business, and various national conservative groups.
Born and raised in Sacramento, California, he earned a B. A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Jim raised his daughter, Jacqueline, alone after his wife died following a tragic car accident. He helped establish the Joan Ellis Victims Assistance Network in Rochester, NH. Jim also is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Officials Association, which officiates high school games throughout the region.
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