Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not take part in the CNN debate on June 27.
The deadline to qualify for the debate was 12 a.m. EST Thursday, per USA Today.
The candidates had to meet certain criteria in order to participate in the debate.
Candidates must “appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote thresholds to win the presidency” and receive at least 15% in four qualifying national polls prior to the eligibility deadline, according to a CNN news release.
Kennedy had received at least 15% in three qualifying polls. He was also on the ballot in six states. This made him eligible for only 89 electoral college votes, according to CNN.
Kennedy filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission when he claimed CNN was making “prohibited corporate contributions” to the campaigns of his opponents — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy alleged doing so violated federal campaign finance law and negotiated with the two campaigns. This excluded him and other candidates, from the debate.
He asked that the FEC to keep CNN, Biden and Trump from holding the debate “until the parties have come into compliance with the Federal Election Campaign Act,” the complaint read.
The FEC would not on the complaint.
