Donald Trump and Joe Biden will not be the only presidential candidates on the ballot in North Carolina, as the State Board of Elections certified the 'We the People Party' on Tuesday, July 16.
North Carolina requires 13,865 signatures to create a new political party. We the People submitted 24,509 signatures and county boards approved 18,569 of those.
"I think it could change some things for us in November," said Chris Cooper, News 13's political analyst.
The subject of that change, and at the top of the ballot line for the We the People Party, is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"We've got a real shot at it," Patrick Hennessey said. "52 percent of people identify as independent voters."
Hennessey, a Kennedy supporter, is the founder of 'The Purple Nation,' a group hoping to combine the best of the divided political parties.
"So for me, that's what Kennedy is," Hennessey said. "He's really the purple candidate bringing the best of red and blue together and I think he's going to help unify this country."
According to the latest numbers from538, a website that accumulates polling numbers, Kennedy is polling at just over nine percent.
The Associated Press reports Kennedy is on the ballot in nine states, not including North Carolina, and has signatures submitted in 14 other states.
"I think the question is which candidate he pulls from," Cooper said. "On the one hand, you'd say 'he's a Kennedy, of course he'd pull from the Democratic candidate.' On the other hand, he is sort of the definition of anti-establishment, much like Donald Trump. So, there's a perspective there that says 'well maybe he actually pulls from the Trump side of the party or of the electorate.'"
But, Cooper is also looking at a third scenario as well.
"What I'm going to want to see once the election is over is: 'Where are those new voters?'" he said. "In other words, did something about RFK Jr. grow new voters in the state of North Carolina or did he get regular voters to defect to his side?"
If it is new voters, Cooper wonders how that could trickle down the ballot.
"Even things like the Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Labor — the kinds of offices we don't talk a lot about that don't tend to have third party candidates — all of a sudden you get even 10, 20,000 RFK Jr. people in there that could actually change the outcome of those races," Cooper said.
During this election cycle and beyond, Hennessey sees third-party options like We the People gaining momentum.
He is hosting a festival at Sacred Mountain Waters in late September centered around Kennedy's campaign.
"I think he's actually going to win if people vote their conscience," Hennessey said.
On the same day that the North Carolina State Board of Elections approved We the People, they denied the 'Justice For All Party,' which backs Cornel West.
STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOSNorth Carolina adds 'We the People Party' with RFK Jr. to November ballot (wlos.com)
