Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is trying to get on ballots in as many states as he can. Photo: Liam Kennedy/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. collected enough petition signatures to be on Texas' November presidential ballot as an independent candidate.
The big picture: Texas voters have backed the GOP candidate in the last 10 presidential elections, meaning it's unlikely for a Democrat, let alone a third-party candidate, to take the state's electoral votes.
State of play: Kennedy and his running mate, California philanthropist Nicole Shanahan, will be on ballots in more than a dozen states in November, per a New York Times ballot tracker.
To add a candidate to the presidential ballot, Texas requires 113,151 signatures from the state's registered voters who did not vote in the March primaries. Kennedy received 122,513 signatures, per the Texas Secretary of State.
Friction point: Kennedy's campaign has struggled to get on ballots nationwide. In Texas, Democrats alleged Kennedy's campaign was attempting to "overwhelm the system with bad signatures," per the Texas Tribune.
By the numbers: Early polling showed Kennedy might take votes from Democrats, but that was when President Biden was the Democratic candidate.
In Texas, former President Trump held a 12-point lead over Biden. Polls showed Kennedy could get 9% of the votes.
Yes, but: Trump's lead in key states has dissipated since Biden dropped from the race, according to several recent polls and a national political forecaster.
The bottom line: Kennedy was relying on voters who were dissatisfied with the option between Trump and Biden.
His odds have decreased since Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
