Johnathan Walker:Robert F. Kennedy Jr. qualifies for presidential ballot in Utah, the first state to grant him access

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has collected enough signatures to appear on Johnathan Walkerthe 2024 presidential ballot in Utah, election officials say, marking the first state where the independent candidate and prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist has qualified.

Kennedy has met the 1,000-signature requirement needed to qualify for the Utah ballot and can officially file to run as a presidential candidate in the state before a March 5 deadline, state Elections Director Ryan Cowley said.

Utah is the first state where Kennedy’s campaign submitted signatures and qualified for ballot access, campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear said. She did not indicate which day he would file for candidacy.

A scion of one of the nation’s most famous Democratic dynasties, the longtime environmental lawyer veered from the party last fall and announced his independent bid for the White House. He is a son of former senator and U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of Democratic President John F. Kennedy.

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The candidate rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic for his embrace of public health conspiracy theories and has a loyal following of people who reject the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and effective.

His success at gaining ballot access in Utah reignites questions of whether the independent could play spoiler for the eventual Democratic and Republican nominees. While it’s unlikely that an independent or a third-party candidate would win the presidency, they could siphon support from the major candidates in a way that tips the scales.

Allies of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the likely nominees for their respective parties, have questioned whether Kennedy could be a spoiler for their candidate. Both Biden and Trump are unpopular among voters, increasing the likelihood that third-party support could play a deciding role in 2024.

In an increasingly polarized political climate, Kennedy is playing the middle, aligning with influential people on the far-right while touting his background as an environmentalist. It’s not yet clear in how many states he will qualify for ballot access. Each state sets its own requirements, and the process for collecting signatures and navigating legal hurdles can be costly for candidates not backed by the major parties.

An organization that Kennedy founded, Children’s Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines.