Colorado Libertarians designate RFK Jr. to state's November ballot after snubbing party's own ticket

The Libertarian Party of Colorado on Tuesday voted to name Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the state's general election ballot as the minor political party's presidential nominee, describing the decision as a bid to "break the stranglehold of the two-party system."

The move follows the state Libertarians' decision last month not to submit paperwork for the party's presidential ticket after determining the presidential and vice presidential candidates nominated by the national Libertarian Party don't share the state party's core values.

Kennedy, who initially sought the Democratic presidential nomination before announcing that he was running as an independent, launched a petition drive in late May to secure a spot on Colorado's ballot. The environmental attorney won't need to turn in signatures by next week's deadline, however, after winning the endorsement from the Libertarians, whose status as one of the state's minor political parties brings with it the ability to send candidates directly to the fall ballot.

The 70-year-old scion of one of the country's most prominent political families, Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and the son of Robert F. Kennedy, the former U.S. attorney general and New York senator whose 1968 presidential run was cut short by an assassin's bullet. Earlier this year, numerous members of the Kennedy family announced they were endorsing Democratic President Joe Biden.

The state Libertarian Party described its newly cemented relationship with Kennedy's campaign as a "groundbreaking partnership" in a statement.

"This collaboration aims to disrupt the entrenched two-party system and provide Colorado voters with a viable alternative in the upcoming 2024 presidential election," the state Libertarians said. "The first presidential debate of the 2024 election highlighted major flaws and issues that all voters, especially unaffiliated and disenfranchised voters, have with the status quo candidates. Now, more than ever, is the time to take bold action to disrupt the authoritarian duopoly machine."

The party added that picking Kennedy "reflects our commitment to offering voters a choice that transcends the traditional partisan divide and promotes individual liberty, personal responsibility, and limited government."

Kennedy praised the Colorado Libertarians and party chair Hannah Goodman for their "visionary leadership in defense of freedom," in a statement.

"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," Kennedy 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.”

Kennedy, the Colorado Libertarians said, shares the party's commitment to civil liberties, free markets and a hands-off approach to foreign policy. The party said Kennedy signed a pledge agreeing with "many of the positions libertarians strongly hold," though the party doesn't plan to release the document until an unspecified future date.

Ahead of Colorado's June 25 congressional and legislative primary election, several Republican candidates signed pledges created by the state Libertarian Party as part of a deal reached with the Colorado GOP intended to prevent Libertarians from siphoning votes from Republicans who align with the minor party's principles.

The pledge signed by Republican congressional candidates included agreeing to support presidential pardons for Snowden, a computer consultant who defected to Russia after leaking highly classified U.S. intelligence, and Ulbricht, who is serving a life sentence for creating an online marketplace used to trade illegal goods and services.

Isaac James, the Kennedy campaign's Colorado state director, in a statement called the partnership with the Colorado Libertarians "a testament to Kennedy's unifying independent run and how the campaign is bringing this country together."

“Our movement has universal appeal because of its common sense values, rooted in the founding principles of our country, and its rejection of the divisive fear narratives used by the establishment parties to steal the wealth of our children and keep their corrupt hold on power,” James said.

Kennedy and his running mate, wealthy California attorney Nicole Shanahan, have struggled to gain ballot access in recent months, leaning on minor parties for ballot access in multiple states, ABC News reported.

The Kennedy ticket's numerous affiliations so far include accepting a nod in California from the American Independent Party, which formed in the 1960s to give segregationist George Wallace a leg up in the state. In Michigan, Kennedy and Shanahan are running under the banner of the Natural Law Party.

Before receiving the Libertarians' nomination in Colorado, Kennedy sought a slot on the state ballot from the Unity Party of Colorado, but the smaller party instead nominated Cornell West, another independent candidate.

Kennedy wasn't the Colorado Libertarians Party's first option, either. The state party last month considered but rejected the national party's ticket, presidential nominee Chase Oliver, who ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, and his running mate, Mike ter Maat, a retired police officer from Virginia.

According to James Wiley, the Libertarian Party of Colorado's executive director, the state party's board was unimpressed by Oliver's willingness to wear a face mask during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and faulted ter Maat for telling "feeble jokes" after former President Donald Trump's conviction on multiple felony charges in New York.

Oliver and ter Maat won the Libertarian Party's nomination on May 26 at the party's national convention in Washington. The two prevailed on the seventh round of balloting, after delegates rejected Trump and Kennedy, who both spoke at the gathering and asked for the party's support.

When it passed on the pair in mid-June, the Colorado party called on the Libertarian National Committee to "decertify the Oliver/ter Maat ticket and align with the true principles of liberty that our party stands for," adding, "At a minimum, the (national committee) must allow states to pursue their own electoral strategies to maximize Libertarian outcomes."

At one point, Wiley told Colorado Politics that the state party was leaning toward putting "none of the above" on the Colorado presidential ballot.

"If the American People want to govern themselves absent the tyranny of the executive state of the federal government, then they have the right to vote for and elect no one to the office of president," Wiley said.

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office told Colorado Politics that "none of the above" wasn't an option under state law, which requires that parties nominate a "candidate" and that presidential nominees meet constitutional qualifications for the office, including being at least 35 years old and a natural born citizen.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Kennedy and his campaign.