(The author is a Latino consultant for American Values 2024)
New York: American Values 2024, the super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential candidacy, is narrowing the focus of its ballot access campaign to seven states, including those deemed crucial for determining the outcome of the 2024 presidential elections.
Initially, the priority states were 10, but the American Values 2024 Super PAC has strategically reduced the number to 7 key states. These states, namely Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Texas, are where the Super PAC will concentrate its efforts to ensure Bobby Kennedy’s name appears on the ballots. According to POLITICO, these states are not just any states but ones that hold significant sway in the electoral process.
“The seven states we will initially focus on have a total of 183 votes in the electoral colleges and some of the highest populations in the country,” stated Tony Lyons, the authoritative voice and co-founder of American Values 2024 Super PAC, in his statement to POLITICO.
The states of Indiana, Colorado, and Nevada, initially on the organization’s list, were excluded based on the recommendation of the Super PAC’s lawyers. Still, the budget remains the same, estimated between 10 and 15 million dollars as before.
American Values 2024 Super PAC is confident that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can win a contingent election. This is a scenario where no presidential candidate secures 270 electoral college votes. In such a situation, the Congress delegations of each state vote to choose the next president,” POLITICO explains in the report, providing a clear picture of the political maneuvering at play.
“Kennedy has two clear paths to the White House. While working closely with our lawyers and without coordinating with the campaign, we will do everything we can to ensure that the bipartisan system fails in any attempt to derail the peaceful and populist revolution that Kennedy represents,” said Lyons.
According to public polls, Kennedy garners around 13 percent voter support in matchups with Biden, Donald Trump, independent candidate Cornel West, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. In three-way matchups, with only Trump and Biden, support for Kennedy increases to 15.4 percent.
Optimism from Tony Lyons
Lyons is optimistic about “Kennedy’s chances in 2024 based on recent polls, especially the data showing increased support among younger voters. “I think, in the end, both parties are anti-democratic and would prefer to keep Bobby Kennedy off the ballots. They prefer to keep independent candidates out of the elections—do not debate them, do not let them participate, find a way to disqualify them—and I don’t think that should happen in a democracy,” said Tony Lyons, co-founder of American Values 2024 Super PAC, in a phone interview with POLITICO.
