By Zachary Gorchow
Executive Editor and Publisher
Posted: May 3, 2024 1:10 PM

One of the biggest potential wild cards in the 2024 presidential race, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will be on the ballot in Michigan as the Natural Law Party's nominee.

The Natural Law Party announced Kennedy's nomination on Thursday. The party also nominated Nicole Shanahan for vice president.

"He's the most qualified candidate in the modern-day history of America," said Natural Law Party Chairman Doug Dern in a statement. "We welcome Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Shanahan to the party."

That is a huge help to Kennedy, who otherwise would have needed to gain ballot access as an independent candidate without party affiliation. That requires at least 15,000 valid signatures from registered voters with at least 100 such signatures from at least seven of the state's 13 U.S. House districts.

Kennedy's presence has alarmed Democrats, who are worried he could siphon away far-left voters from President Joe Biden,much in the same way that Jill Stein, the 2016 Green Party nominee, likely cost Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the state and delivered Republican Donald Trump his 10,700-vote margin of victory.

Trump got about 47 percent of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. The main difference is the third-party vote plummeted in 2020, boosting Biden's percentage to more than 50 percent compared to the more than 46 percent Clinton received.

Kennedy is the son of former U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated during the 1968 presidential campaign. However, many of his family members have criticized him as a vaccine denier and conspiracy theorist. They have endorsed Biden.

Besides Michigan, Kennedy has secured ballot access in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, Idaho and Nevada and is working to get ballot access in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.