Robert F. Kennedy Jr. secures ballot access in battleground state of Michigan

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has secured a place on the ballot in the battleground state of Michigan, state officials confirmed Thursday, elevating his potential to affect the November election.

Kennedy's independent bid has spooked allies of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees, who fear his famous last name and dedicated support among a slice of disaffected voters will be enough to tip the election.

Biden scooped up endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family during a campaign stop Thursday in Philadelphia.

A spokesperson for the Michigan secretary of state's office said the Natural Law Party, a minor party with a line on the state's ballot, nominated Kennedy at a convention.

Kennedy faces an expensive and time-consuming process to get on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia without the backing of a political party.

Michigan is the second state after Utah to affirm that his name will be presented to voters. His campaign or an allied super PAC say they've collected enough signatures in several other states, including the battlegrounds of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, but they haven't yet been validated by elections officials.

Third-party and independent candidates face long odds in a U.S. political system largely built around two major parties. Kennedy has acknowledged the hurdles he faces and urged Americans to “take a risk” and vote for him, saying the biggest obstacle to his campaign is the belief that he can’t win.

Kennedy is a leading activist in the movement that rejects the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and effective, and he's built a fervent base of support among voters disenchanted with American institutions.

Stung by losses in two of the last six elections that many Democrats blame on third-party candidates, the Democratic National Committee has pledged a full court press to challenge Kennedy, including legal challenges to his ballot access and ads linking Kennedy to Trump supporters.

The anti-vaccine group Kennedy led for years, Children’s Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against several news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines.

President Joe Biden, second from right, and members of the Kennedy family including Maxwell Kennedy Sr., from left, Kerry Kennedy and Christopher Kennedy walk on stage at a campaign event, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Joe Biden salutes during a campaign event in Philadelphia, Thursday, April 18, 2024, with members of the Kennedy family. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President Joe Biden, second from right, and members of the Kennedy family including Maxwell Kennedy Sr., from left, Kerry Kennedy and Christopher Kennedy walk on stage at a campaign event, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to supporters during a campaign event, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. waves to supporters during a campaign event, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters on Wednesday got a step closer to getting to decide whether to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour, after a group behind the effort said it turned in nearly double the required number of signatures.

The ballot measure backed by Missouri Jobs with Justice would raise the minimum wage from its current $12.30 an hour to $13.75 an hour next year and then to $15 an hour in 2026.

Citizen-driven amendments to Missouri law require more than 100,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot, and Missouri Jobs with Justice said it submitted about 210,000. Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft's office must next determine if at least 115,000 or so are valid.

“We feel confident that voters will have an opportunity to pass this important initiative this fall," Caitlyn Adams, executive director of Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action, said in a statement.

Missouri voters historically have supported minimum wage hikes.

After the Republican-led Legislature in 2017 blocked St. Louis and Kansas City from raising wages in those cities, voters in 2018 approved a statewide minimum wage hike.

Under that plan, the wage floor — then $7.85 an hour — rose by 85 cents per year until it hit $12 in 2023. Pay rose again this year because of automatic increases tied to inflation.

The latest proposal also includes a requirement that workers get paid sick leave.

Employees currently not guaranteed sick days would earn an hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked under the measure.

Businesses with fewer employees would be required to allow a minimum of five paid sick days per year, and larger companies would be required to offer at least seven paid sick days.

In this photo provided by Joni Wickham, advocates hoping to raise Missouri's minimum wage to $15 an hour turned in voter signatures Wednesday, May 1, 2024, to the Secretary of State's Office in Jefferson City, Mo. Campaigns need more than 100,000 valid voter signatures to put proposed changes to Missouri law before voters. (Joni Wickham via AP)