Breaking News: Kennedy Secures Signatures for Texas Ballot Access

By Melissa Orrison, The Kennedy Beacon

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has obtained over 200,000 signatures ahead of the May 13 filing deadline, according to multiple sources, well beyond the 130,000 required by Texas law for independent candidates. 

While the signatures still need to be counted and validated, fulfilling the signature requirement in Texas helps Kennedy stay on track in his push for ballot access in all 50 states.

However, there is another layer of difficulty in Texas, where election law stipulates that those who voted in the primary election are not eligible to sign any ballot access petition. Therefore, the campaign has collected an excess number of signatures in anticipation of some of them being disqualified. More signatures will likely be collected before the end of the petitioning period.

Texas is the latest state where Kennedy has enough signatures for ballot access but has a much earlier deadline than other states. Kennedy also has enough signatures in the following states: Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. He has won official ballot access in Utah and Michigan.

Texas Political History

Since 1980, Texas has consistently voted for Republican presidential candidates. Republicans have majorities in the State House and Senate, Texas Supreme Court, and U.S. Senate seats. 

However, many important Texas politicians have been Texas Democrats: President Lyndon Johnson, Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn and Senator Ralph Yarbrough. Texas Democrats were once divided into separate factions of liberals, moderates, and conservatives, as indicated by the rift in the party that JFK hoped to resolve during his ill-fated trip to Dallas.

After the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, ironically passed by a Texas Democratic president, many Texans turned Republican. This continued after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which gave disenfranchised Black and Latino voters the right to vote. 

As America’s most populous Republican state, Texas is home to the Bush family, a Republican political family dynasty that produced two presidents.

What Kennedy Can do for Texas

As a candidate with appeal across party lines, Kennedy has much to offer Texans, including solutions for immigration and the economy. Although it is a pressing issue nationwide, the crisis at the border affects Texas more than Americans in other regions.

Kennedy visited the border in July 2023 and witnessed a humanitarian crisis with negative consequences for thousands of migrants as well as the U.S. The Associated Press reported that illegal crossings at the Mexican border reached an all-time high in December 2023, with 249,785 arrests, up 31% since November. 

In April 2024 on Rumble, Kennedy told TwinsPods what actions he would take to secure the border. The border needs reconstruction into a “unique physical barrier” with reconstructed fences and surveillance cameras, he said. He favors sending more asylum court judges to the border to adjudicate the cases, and these cases should be adjudicated in Mexico at the U.S. Embassy, rather than at the border.

It’s unlikely that Texas will go for Biden, with its Republican history and his record at the border. Kennedy also feels Biden’s biggest problem is the economy; Texans are struggling to afford necessities.

Kennedy said on X, “The DNC is treating me as if I am President Biden’s big challenge. But his real problem is not me, his real problem is $4 milk, $4 gas, $6 loaf of bread and the fact that this generation of American kids are never going to own their own home. We are the only campaign talking about how to make life affordable….”

According to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, median housing prices in the major metropolitan areas are $300,00 - $400,000 and home prices have increased by $9,000 since December. Houses are staying on the market longer as well. 

Data from the Comptroller of Texas indicates that inflation hovers around 9%, slightly higher than the nationwide average of 8.5%. Leading costs of inflation nationwide include food and energy. 

Considering Biden’s and Trump’s track records, Texans may decide it is time to try something different and declare their independence by voting for Kennedy. The overwhelmingly successful response to the Kennedy signature drive for ballot access, despite those voters being barred from the primary, indicates a desire to leave the uni-party behind.