Democrats fear Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will cause significant damage to President Biden in this year’s election — assuming the independent candidate can get on enough ballots.

Kennedy, the controversial scion of one of the most famous families in American politics, switched from Democrat to independent last year and has polled comfortably in many surveys.

But while Democrats and Republicans alike generally believe he poses more of a threat to the unpopular Biden than to GOP front-runner former President Trump, it’s not yet known how many Americans will see Kennedy’s name when they go to fill out their ballots this year. 

“It’s unclear how serious his campaign is going to be. Where’s he going to be on the ballot?” said Tim Miller, a Republican strategist and prominent Trump critic. “Are they the types of states that have more MAGA-type voters or the types of states that have more minority voters?”

Both parties are warily watching Kennedy just days away from the election’s first contests, as more state ballot deadlines approach. So far, the cycle’s biggest dark horse has made the ballot in Utah, with North Carolina to come in several weeks. Campaigns on both sides of the aisle have taken his candidacy more seriously in recent weeks as he maintains steady polling standing.