RFK Jr. fails to garner support for Libertarian nomination, Trump barred due to lack of formal paperwork

While the Libertarian Party's convention rarely makes much in the way of headlines during an election year, this time around it was a bit different.

According to reports, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who presumably hoped to gain something in the way of traction during the convention, was largely overlooked by members of the party, ultimately losing the bid to become its formal nominee.

Former President Donald Trump, who attended the convention and generated mixed reviews from party members, never filed the formal paperwork to become the party's nominee -- for obvious reasons.

Kennedy apparently hadn't originally planned to run for the party's nomination, but in a surprise move on Sunday, his name was added to the list of contenders.

A delegate had added his name to the list of contenders while on the convention floor, which drew immeidate boos from other delegates.

Ultimatley, he came up extremely short in that regard, managing to only garner support from 19 delegates, or roughly 2.07%, and was knocked out in the first round of the party's nomination process.

While Trump isn't popular with Libertarians, his name was also mentioned by a delegate during the process, but was ultimately barred from being placed on the list of candidates due to not filing the formal paperwork to be eligible, a decision announced by Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle.

CNN noted:

Trump received votes from six delegates as a write-in candidate. In a rebuke of the former president, adult film actress Stormy Daniels – whose alleged affair with Trump is at the center of his hush money trial in New York – received a vote from one delegate.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Rejected in Libertarian Party Nomination

The independent candidate received just 2 percent of the votes and was kicked out in the first round.https://t.co/cEiUemry9M

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) May 27, 2024

For his part, Kennedy issued a statement on his X account after the nomination process, insisting that independents and third parties should "unite" to take down the two-party system, which he described as "corrupt."

"What an unexpected honor to wake up this morning to a groundswell in the Libertarian Party seeking to nominate me. I would have accepted the nomination if offered because independents and third parties need to unite right now to reclaim our country from the corrupt two-party system," Kennedy said.

He added, "It was a high point of my campaign to speak at the @LPNational convention on Friday about our shared and urgent concerns. While we may not agree on every downstream issue, our core values of peace, free speech, and civil liberties make us natural allies."

Trump has continued to remain rock steady in national and swing state polling against President Joe Biden.

Kennedy definitely has noticeable support, but it's simply not enough to make the waves needed to upset the current top two party contenders.