Democrats pulling out all the stops against RFK Jr.

Democrats are taking unusual steps to prevent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from thwarting efforts to retain the White House in November.

From rallying Kennedy’s family around President Biden to abandoning opposition polls and holding press conferences about support for former President Trump, Democrats watch as Kennedy becomes eligible to vote in more states. is doing everything in its power to prevent Kennedy from damaging Biden in the fall.

“There’s no education in kicking the mule a second time,” said Anjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist who is advising Biden’s presidential campaign. “In 2016, we saw the impact that third-party candidates can have on elections. And we also saw the potential downside of not being well-educated. [about] Voting for these candidates could have long-term implications for this country. ”

“We are now feeling the consequences of the 2016 election in 2024,” he added.

Kennedy has made several high-profile decisions in recent weeks that have caught the attention of Democrats, including choosing wealthy running mate Nicole Shanahan and announcing he would not run on the Libertarian ticket.

Democrats, who aim to maintain Biden’s electoral coalition, are concerned about Biden’s strategy. When Kennedy was struggling with money, they pointed out how much it cost to petition for ballots in each state and comforted him that he didn’t have to go that far. And as he was toying with the Libertarian bid, they were also optimistically hoping he would cut into Trump’s base rather than Biden’s.

Both issues are on the back burner, with Democrats focused on what happens next.

“Voters have a clear choice to make this November, and the more they learn about RFK Jr., the more they realize that a vote for him is a vote for Donald Trump,” Democratic National Committee spokesman Matt Corridoni said in a statement. “I’m going to start doing that,” he said. The department has now created a new unit to help thwart President Kennedy’s bid for the White House.

“We’re going to make sure he’s playing by the rules and we’re going to make sure voters know about his extreme positions and who is supporting the spoiler candidate,” Corridoni said.

For most of his candidacy, Kennedy considered running as a Libertarian, giving himself an option in case the secessionist route did not work out. But on Sunday, he flatly rejected the idea, saying it was not part of the calculation and expressing his confidence in gathering enough votes for an independent panel show in November.

President Kennedy told ABC News this weekend, “I’m not running on the Libertarian Party ticket because I have no problem getting on the ballot myself.”

Just a few days later, he qualified for Michigan, the most consequential state to date, making it up to four battleground states along with New Hampshire, Nevada and North Carolina. His campaign has a total of nine states on the ballot.

The Democratic Party began to object violently. Biden appeared this week with members of the Kennedy family who have united in support of the sitting president. Although Biden has not criticized Kennedy, he has taken some not-so-subtle steps to show voters that RFK Jr. is an outlier among the members of his political dynasty.

“His own family is supporting President Biden today because his ideas are dangerous,” said Lana Epting, executive director of MoveOn, which has led the anti-Kennedy movement among progressive Democrats. “Because he knows he’s only going to help Donald Trump get re-elected.” wing.

As an independent, Kennedy’s base is not clearly defined, but Democrats believe he is most likely to draw support from Biden voters. The idea worries pro-Biden Democrats, who see the mission of this election as protecting democracy from a second term under President Trump. Kennedy’s campaign created a wrinkle in all of that, prompting an outpouring of Democratic resources to focus on undermining his efforts in the run-up to the general election.

“We’re starting to see the different corners of the Democratic Party square intersect and come together at a critical time in the campaign, because it’s so important that base consolidation happens,” Seawright said.

“Many people should accept the idea of ​​ignoring ignorance and asserting the essence,” he says.

Mr. Kennedy’s path now depends on a more detailed state-by-state strategy, which voting experts say is difficult but possible with enough time and money. He effectively addressed financial issues by choosing a vice president with a history of recent campaign contributions.

The selection of Mr. Shanahan, a billionaire tech patent attorney from Silicon Valley, was seen by both Democrats and Kennedy supporters as a symbol of a more serious campaign that could last into the fall.

This week, Mr. Shanahan injected $2 million into Mr. Kennedy’s campaign shortly after announcing him as his running mate, helping fund what is expected to be a huge sum to gain nationwide voting access. This further heightened Democrats’ suspicions that Mr. Shanahan was using her for his own purposes.

Kennedy denies choosing Shanahan for the money, but he still benefits from it. Gaining the right to vote in Michigan begins a new goal of winning multiple states in quick succession. “We’ll probably add two or three states a week,” he told ABC News.

The Hill has reached out to Kennedy’s campaign for comment.

Mr. Shanahan’s funding, which has been the subject of speculation among Democrats, is seen as the most helpful in his bid. While Democrats have complained that anti-establishment candidates are pouring millions of dollars into stimulating their campaigns, Kennedy’s allies see it as a positive.

“You could say she’s a billionaire,” a source familiar with Kennedy’s operations surmised to The Hill. Shanahan herself has not publicly acknowledged her net worth or liquid assets.

Importantly, the money helps advance the campaign’s tactical issues, which are different for independents than for presumptive Democratic or Republican candidates.

“If necessary, we could hire foot soldiers to collect signatures,” said a Kennedy ally. “And we can hire the most powerful and intelligent floodgate-pipe-in ​​ballot access political lawyers to fight all the battles both parties are waging.”

Democrats are also seeking to make the relationship between Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Trump clearer, and want to build a narrative around Mr. Kennedy’s views, including his skepticism about vaccines and other questions about scientific and medical advances. I believe. His stance on women’s rights has come into question recently, with Democrats seeking to position him further into the Republican camp on issues such as abortion and in vitro fertilization.

“Robert Kennedy Jr. is leading anti-in vitro fertilization, anti-vaccine, anti-abortion policies, but there is no way this will win 270 electoral votes,” he said. Epting said the group is building grassroots support for the.

Mr. Trump himself has teamed up with Mr. Kennedy. He is outwardly more complimentary of the pro-independence side, praising his candidacy and support. The former president said this week that he “knows Mr. Biden very well” and previously said he believed Mr. Kennedy would hurt Mr. Biden in a future rematch.

Democrats say Trump’s political maneuvering is working to boost his position and urge them to unite.

“We can do multiple things at the same time,” Seawright said of Democrats’ strategy. “Frankly, so far, we have the resources to make it happen. We have players on the field that are capable of doing it.”

“At this point in the cycle, that’s true when it comes to education,” he says. “It’s about educating the American public not just about what we’ve done, but who’s fighting against it and who’s going to eliminate it. The threats that currently exist and how serious and serious those threats are. “It’s about educating the public about what could become a widespread reality,” he said. “But we also need to educate voters about the consequences of being divided.”

“This cycle is not a one-time opportunity,” Seawright added. “It’s not an either-or.”