Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in Texas, his campaign said.

“Independent Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vice Presidential Candidate Nicole Shanahan today visited the Texas Secretary of State office and turned in 245,572 signatures — twice as many as are required — to gain ballot access in Texas,” RFK Jr.’s campaign stated in a press release.

“Today, Nicole and I turned in 245,572 signatures — twice as many as are required — to gain ballot access in Texas. Thank you Lone Star State,” RFK Jr. said.

Per Kennedy24:

Kennedy is the first independent presidential candidate to make the Texas ballot in more than two decades since Pat Buchanan’s presidential run in 2000. The signature requirement then was just over 56,000, now it’s 113,151.

“RFK Jr. has drawn a line in the sand reminiscent of the determination of our Texas forebears,” said National Field Director Andy Griffith. “It’s time Texans declare independence from the limitations of partisan politics and vote for new leadership.”

The Kennedy campaign has launched a robust ballot access plan to ensure the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket is on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The former Democrat candidate’s campaign said it’s officially on the ballot in six states – Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, and now Texas.

RFK Jr.’s campaign said it collected enough signatures for ballot access in eight other states – New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio.

The Hill reports:

The Texas Secretary of State’s Office confirmed it received the petition but could not confirm the number of listed signatures.

Texas, which has the second-highest number of electoral college votes with 40 votes, is the 14th state where the independent candidate has claimed ballot access so far. That list also includes California, which has the most electoral college votes in the country with 54 votes.

He is the first independent presidential candidate to gain access to the Texas ballot since Pat Buchanan ran for the Oval Office in 2000, Kennedy’s campaign said.

While Kennedy, who switched from the Democratic party to an independent last fall, is vying for access to all 50 states, political strategists predict he likely only needs a few significant states to create a “spoiler” effect.

Spear told The Hill last week that Kennedy’s campaign is seeking to “pull votes away from disenfranchised votes of both President Biden and President Trump.”

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