The Reform Party of Florida nominated RFK Jr. for president, and Trump reacts to Haley's support.
RFK Jr. nominated by Reform Party in Florida
The Reform Party has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for president in Florida, the independent's campaign announced Friday.
Formed by independent presidential candidate Ross Perot three years after he lost the 1992 election to Democrat Bill Clinton, the centrist party was designed to present a third alternative to Democrats and Republicans and uses purple as its official color.
“The driving potential in this marriage is principles,” Reform Party Chairman Nick Hensley said in a statement about the nomination. “Even though Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Reform Party do not agree on every issue, both the Reform Party and RFK Jr. agree on listening to the opposition, debating facts and understanding that you can’t discount a solution just because it came from your political rivals. True leaders will listen to those around them and force consensus, regardless of party affiliation.”
The Reform Party has nominated a handful of other presidential candidates over the years, including consumer rights advocate Ralph Nader in 2004 and former White House Communications Director and Republican Pat Buchanan in 2000. Neither campaign was successful.
“I couldn’t resonate more with the Reform Party’s motto, ‘It’s time to put people first,’” Kennedy said in a statement. “I am grateful to accept the nomination and grow the independent movement and take our shared principles all the way to the White House.”
Kennedy’s Reform Party nomination allows his campaign to raise up to $48,000 per donor in the state — six times as much as his ticket was allowed to fundraise as an independent candidate.
Kennedy has been racking up nominations from various independent political parties over the past several months as he works to secure ballot access in all 50 states before November’s election.
In April, The American Independent Party of California nominated the Kennedy-Shanahan ticked. In March, the Natural Law Party nominated the Kennedy in Michigan.
The Kennedy 24 campaign has been working to gain ballot access since January, when it launched the We the People party to get on the California ballot before the Super Tuesday primary election on March 5. The Kennedy-Shanahan ticket has since collected enough signatures to get on the ballot in Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio.
Kennedy-Shanahan is officially on the ballot in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah and Texas.
Kennedy, 70, filed his candidacy for the Democratic party presidential nomination in April 202, but switched to run as an Independent in October last year, saying the two-party political system was “corrupt” and “rigged.”
Trump reacts to Haley's support
Former President Donald Trump has weighed in on former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s support of him in the upcoming presidential election.
Haley said she will be voting for him in November.
The former president said she will likely be back on his team in some form.
“Well, I think she’s gonna be on our team, because we have a lot of the same ideas, the same thoughts," Trump said. "I appreciated what she said. You know, we had a nasty campaign. It was pretty nasty. But she’s a very capable person and I’m sure she’s gonna be on our team in some form, absolutely."
There is still no word on Trump's pick for his vice president. The former president has said he would decide on his running mate during the Republican National Convention, which begins on July 15 in Milwaukee.