RFK Jr. filing complaint with FEC after not being allowed in Atlanta presidential debate

ATLANTA — Third-party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says his campaign is going to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission after he was not allowed in the CNN presidential debate that is set to take place on June 27 here in Atlanta.

“We believe that if the F.E.C. enforces the law, that they’re going to find that there was – you know, there’s also evidence, strong evidence, that’s been reported in the mainstream media of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Biden campaign – particularly the Biden campaign – and CNN,” Kennedy said.

CNN has said candidates will be invited if they’ve secured a place on the ballot in states with at least 270 votes in the Electoral College, the minimum needed to win the presidency, and have hit 15% in four reliable polls published since March 13. The criteria mirror those used by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonpartisan group that has organized debates since 1988, except the commission’s first debate would have been in September, giving Kennedy more time.

Kennedy doesn’t appear to have met the polling criteria yet, although he has reached 15% or higher in at least two polls meeting CNN’s standards.

To make the first debate stage, he’ll have to secure a place on the ballot in at least a dozen more states and improve his showing in national polls in one month.

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With a famous name and a loyal base, Kennedy has the potential to do better than any third-party presidential candidate since Ross Perot in the 1990s. Both the Biden and Trump campaigns, who fear he could play spoiler, bypassed the nonpartisan debate commission and agreed to a schedule that leaves Kennedy very little time to qualify for the first debate.

Publicly, Kennedy is expressing confidence that he will make the stage.

“I look forward to holding Presidents Biden and Trump accountable for their records in Atlanta on June 27 to give Americans the debate they deserve,” he posted on the X platform.

Kennedy’s campaign says he has collected enough signatures in Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, states with 112 electoral votes in total. But he has either not submitted the signatures or they have not yet been affirmed by state election officials.

Those states still only add up to 201 electoral votes.

Political experts told Channel 2 Action News that Georgia will be a key player again in November.

“Georgia is just that important. It’s a must-win state, I think, for both Trump and Biden. I can’t imagine winning the presidency this year without carrying Georgia, it’s that important,” Kennesaw State University political professor Kerwin Swint said.

CNN said no audience would be present and the moderators of the debate would be announced at a later date.

Trump and Biden have also accepted an invitation from ABC News for a debate in September.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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