By DAVID ZIMMERMANN | National Review
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify for next week’s CNN debate by the network’s Thursday deadline, missing the opportunity to stand alongside former president Donald Trump and President Joe Biden on stage.
Kennedy did not meet CNN’s polling and ballot-access requirements for the June 27 debate. The presidential longshot needed to earn at least 15 percent support in four nationwide polls. By Thursday, he sat just above the 15 percent mark on three approved national polls.
CNN also required all participating debaters to get on a sufficient number of state ballots in order to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the election. Currently, Kennedy only has 89 electoral votes for being present on the ballot in six states — California, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Utah.