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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) has qualified for the ballot in California.

Kennedy and his running mate Nicole Shanahan have secured the backing of California’s American Independent Party (AIP). The campaign submitted the necessary paperwork to California’s secretary of state.

In a video, RFK said, “It’s been reborn as a party that represents not bigotry and hatred, but rather compassion and unity and idealism and common sense. When they learned about my candidacy, they had just drafted a new charter for their reborn party where they could use their battle line for good for helping independent candidates to unite America without being blocked by the two-party duopoly.”

This marks the third state Kennedy and Shanahan have qualified for, following their successful campaigns in Utah and Michigan. They also have secured the required signatures for ballot access in New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, and Iowa. Kennedy, having switched from the Democratic to an independent ticket last year, is seeking to challenge President Biden and former President Trump.

Current polling:
According to a Harvard-Harris poll, in a general election poll, Trump was at 45%, Biden 41%, Kennedy 14%
According to a CNN poll, in a general election poll, Trump was at 42%, Biden 33%, Kennedy 16%, West 4%, and Stein at 3%