Robert F. Kennedy Jr., running as an independent presidential candidate, has officially secured a spot on the Texas ballot for the November general election. The announcement came from the Texas Secretary of State's office, who confirmed Thursday that Kennedy's petition exceeded the necessary threshold with 122,513 valid signatures, exceeding the minimum requirement of 113,151, The Texas Tribune reported.

Despite having gathered enough signatures to meet the state's requirements, Kennedy's campaign has been criticized by Texas Democrats. They have accused his campaign of flooding the system with illegitimate signatures and stated, that his "attempt to overwhelm the system with bad signatures is just another example of his campaign’s disregard for the rules." These remarks have mirrored the larger concerns at the national level where Democrats have been pushing to keep the Independent candidate off state ballots, especially in light of tactics used by Kennedy signature gatherers that have been questioned in other states for being misleading, as detailed by The Texas Tribune. 

Recent polls have noted a shift in support for Kennedy, with a dip from 9% to 5% nationally after Vice President Kamala Harris was designated as the Democratic nominee, following President Biden's departure from the race. Locally, Kennedy's Texas support stands at 8% according to recent polls. Despite the fluctuations in polling data, Kennedy's pursuit of a national presence has been half-successful, with confirmed ballot access in 14 states and claimed access in approximately 29 additional states.