HARRISBURG, Pa. — Independent Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Junior emerged from a Harrisburg courthouse less than a half hour after entering the courtroom on Tuesday.
The 10 a.m. hearing to determine whether Kennedy can appear on the ballot in Pennsylvania went on without him. Kennedy walked into the hearing at 11:39 a.m., nearly an hour after Judge Lori Dumas ruled the hearing would continue without his testimony.
Kennedy’s lawyer Paul Rossi said a cancelled flight from Massachusetts to Harrisburg International Airport was to blame.
"I’ve never been in a situation where a cancelled flight has resulted in a judge preventing a presidential candidate, any candidate, any witness from testifying given that we had the entire day set aside," Rossi said.
Two registered Pennsylvania Democrats represented by a Democrat-backed PAC contested Kennedy’s application to appear on the ballot in court, arguing Kennedy’s nomination petition had insignificant signatures and an inaccurate address.
"When you disregard the process, when you show up late, when you say the rules don’t apply to you and you should’ve gotten a discount and had to submit a lower number of signatures, it really shows a total disregard for our process here in Pennsylvania," said Timothy Ford, lead attorney for the objectors.
A New York judge recently ruled against Kennedy in a similar case, finding the candidate listed a New York address, while residing in California.
While the objectors argued Kennedy was trying to deceive voters, Kennedy’s attorney argued removing a presidential candidate from a state ballots based on address is unconstitutional, saying Kennedy has three addresses in the United States and “made a good faith attempt” to use the correct one.
Outside the courthouse, Kennedy claimed he’s being targeted by the Democratic party.
"It’s a sad devolution of this party that the only way it can win elections is to keep it’s opponents off the debating stage, off the ballots and use lawfare to try to win elections," Kennedy said.
"You wanna be on Pennsylvania’s ballot, you have to follow Pennsylvania’s rules," Ford said in response to Kennedy's comments.
With more legal challenges ahead, Kennedy was asked if he’d stay in the fight.
"I’ll be on the ballot in every state," he told reporters.
Kennedy’s appearance on the ballot could have a significant impact on the outcome of this presidential race.
The latest Franklin and Marshall College poll shows he could receive as much as 6% of the vote in a state that was won by less than 100,000 votes in the last two presidential elections.
Judge Dumas will have to come to a decision very soon.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt must send a list of candidates to county board of elections by Tuesday, August 27.