White House hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is vowing to fight after a judge in Albany ruled he will not be on the ballot in New York in November.

“The case was frivolous. It should have never been brought to trial,” he said in an interview with NY1.


What You Need To Know

  • In the race for president, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing a roadblock in his efforts to make it on the New York ballot

  • A judge in Albany ruled Kennedy cannot appear on the ballot in New York in November

  • The third-party candidate spoke to NY1 about his legal path forward and the infamous bear incident

“We already filed our appeal in the state court,” Kennedy continued. “Tomorrow, we’ll file a federal appeal and I’m 100% confident we’ll win the case.”

Kennedy’s independent campaign was challenged in court by a group of New Yorkers who were backed by the Clear Choice Political Action Committee.

The group argued Kennedy falsely listed New York as his residency in the paperwork he filed to get on the ballot.

“I made an effort to keep my New York residence even though I moved to California. I got married in 2014. I married an actress, she couldn’t move to New York, but we agreed to move to New York when her career ended,” Kennedy said.

“They had a trial, each side was able to call witnesses, present evidence, each side was able to make their arguments and ultimately it was up to the judge in this case,” election law attorney Joe Burns said, explaining the case.

The judge’s decision found Kennedy has a “longstanding pattern of borrowing addresses” to maintain New York residency, calling his claim of renting a bedroom in Katonah, New York, a sham address.

“We consulted lawyers on this. It wasn’t a sham,” Kennedy said.

With his attorneys now focused on getting Kennedy’s name back on the New York ballot, Kennedy told NY1 he’s focused on November and he plans to stay in the race for president until Election Day.

“Between now and then, I have to convince a lot of Americans to vote out of hope, vote out of inspiration and not to vote out of fear,” he said.

In recent weeks, Kennedy made headlines in New York City after admitting to leaving a dead bear in Central Park a decade ago.

“Do I have any regrets with how it was handled? Yeah, I wish I wouldn’t have handed it at all,” Kennedy told NY1.

On his presidential campaign, Kennedy insisted his approach to immigration at the nation’s southern border would have a positive impact on the city.

“The border crisis, that’s become an issue in New York City. There’s 125,000 immigrants there that are crushing the social safety net in the city,” Kennedy said. “I’ve been to the border. We need to shut it down. We need to open legal immigration and make it easier for people to get a path to citizenship.”