Editor's Note: After a weekslong battle, RFK Jr. will not appear on Colorado's ballot as a Libertarian Party candidate after all. Instead, the party's national nominee, Chase Oliver, is set to appear. Read the latest here.
Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear on Colorado’s presidential election ballots, as a Libertarian.
The Libertarian Party of Colorado announced its members have agreed to form a “partnership” with the RFK campaign.
“As part of this partnership, the Libertarian Party of Colorado will place the Kennedy/Shanahan ticket on the Colorado state ballot for president and vice president,” the party said in a statement. “This move reflects our commitment to offering voters a choice that transcends the traditional partisan divide and promotes individual liberty, personal responsibility, and limited government.”
This move comes after the Colorado Libertarian Party voted to reject the national party’s candidate for president, Chase Oliver. Party chairwoman Hannah Goodman said on the libertarian podcast, Free State Colorado, that Oliver and his running mate, Mike ter Maat, did not share the state party’s core values.
“He really doesn’t even necessarily represent Libertarians across the nation. I was told by his campaign that he’s ‘broadly libertarian,’ whatever that means,” she said. Goodman told the podcast the party disagrees with Oliver’s positions on the COVID-19 response and transgender youth.
Kennedy Jr. has been gathering signatures in Colorado to have his name appear on the ballot as an Independent. His campaign had until July 11 to turn in 12,000 valid signatures, but this partnership with the Libertarian party makes that effort unnecessary.
Nationally, Kennedy Jr.’s campaign for ballot access has been expensive, leading to steep debt and layoffs among his staff. He has already secured ballot access in Illinois, New York and Utah.
During his campaign, Kennedy Jr. has built a reputation of being an anti-establishment firebrand, hoping to take votes away from both Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s voter bases. He’s come out against vaccinations, against corporations and pollution and against the funding of foreign wars. The Libertarian Party of Colorado said those values align well with theirs.
“His campaign's focus on ending corporate welfare, reducing government spending, and protecting the environment aligns with our values and resonates with Colorado voters,” the party said.
In a statement, Kennedy Jr. thanked the party and outlined his vision for the nation.
“Together, we will win the White House and steadfastly protect the Bill of Rights, the First and Second Amendments, and all the foundational liberties they secure,” he said. “Our administration will restore free markets, end corporate welfare, stop the money-printing and unwind the war machine it fuels. On day one, I will pardon Edward Snowden, Ross Ulbricht, and all political and corporate whistleblowers who protect our democracy.”
The Libertarian Party of Colorado has about 37,000 registered voters, according to recent state data.
