COLUMBIA, S.C. — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has failed to qualify for next week’s debate in Atlanta, according to host network CNN, falling shy of benchmarks both for state ballot qualification and necessary polling.

The missed markers mean that the June 27 showdown will be between Democratic President Joe Biden and the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. That denies Kennedy a singular opportunity to stand alongside the leading candidates in an attempt to lend legitimacy to his long-shot bid and convince potential supporters that he has a shot at winning.

In a statement Thursday, Kennedy called his exclusion from the debate “undemocratic, un-American and cowardly.”

Both the Biden and Trump campaigns fear that Kennedy could play spoiler in what’s anticipated to be a close general election.

According to the criteria set out by CNN, candidates would be invited to participate in the debate if they had secured a place on the ballot in states totaling at least 270 votes in the Electoral College, the minimum needed to win the presidency.

Biden and Trump have easily cleared the polling threshold but won’t be certified for the ballot until their parties formally nominate them later this summer. Both have secured enough delegates to lock in their nominations.

Kennedy’s campaign says he has satisfied the requirements to appear on the ballot in 22 states, with a combined 310 electoral votes, though not all have affirmed his name will be listed. California, the largest prize on the electoral map with 54 votes, will not certify any candidates until Aug. 29.

Candidates were also required to reach a polling threshold of 15% in four reliable national polls by June 20, another metric CNN said Kennedy failed to meet. According to the network, Kennedy has received at least 15% in three qualifying polls and is currently on the ballot in six states, making him currently eligible for 89 Electoral College votes. Last month, Biden and Trump agreed to the CNN debate and a second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC.