RFK Jr. seeks major boost with VP announcement

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s impending announcement to be the next vice president threatens to disrupt the 2024 presidential campaign, with allies and observers predicting that not only will he receive an influx of money but also a potential boost to his career. It is said that this has the potential to provide significant momentum to Mr. State Ballots.

Kennedy’s decision to announce his running mate next Tuesday signals the longevity of his bid, which many Democrats had hoped would be dead by now. The announcement of the vice presidential candidate means the independent candidate has met the criteria necessary for 24 states to appear on their ballots, adding to the spotlight on the candidate’s race.

“The fact that the vice president is on the list shows he is moving forward,” Tony Lyons, co-founder of the Kennedy American Values ​​Super PAC, said this week. In an interview with The Hill. “Then voters will know that he is very serious about becoming president.”

Team Kennedy’s search for No. 2 attracted attention for producing an unconventional name. While many believe President Kennedy is likely to choose lawyer and major donor Nicole Shanahan, others are considering it privately and have mixed reactions.

Kennedy has publicly sued many people. He previously said he was considering NFL star Aaron Rodgers, who shares many of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views on public health.

However, Mr. Rogers was put on the backburner after comments that surfaced questioning the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting sparked outrage. Known for thinking outside the box, Kennedy is a wrestler with a nontraditional ideology, former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and technology entrepreneur. also expressed support for Andrew Yang.

As the event in Oakland, California approached, Shanahan became the front-runner. The West Coast lawyer, who has deep ties to Silicon Valley and is the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, could theoretically commit even more money to ballot access efforts.

Voting experts and strategists say candidates are struggling to qualify despite signs of traction, such as popular polls and popular messages, because it is extremely expensive to qualify in dozens of states. It is said that there is a possibility that the support of

A person familiar with Kennedy’s strategy acknowledged that taking on Democrats and Republicans would require huge amounts of money. Incumbent Biden has a substantial war chest, reporting $21 million in donations in February and an eye-opening cash total of $71 million, according to the Federal Election Commission.

“This is very expensive,” a pro-Kennedy official said of the candidate’s strategy. “This is one of the other problems of running an independent rebel campaign. It is difficult for him to counter the two campaigns economically. They seem to have unlimited funds. is.”

Having Shanahan as his running mate would help ease those concerns. Kennedy recently argued that the California attorney’s availability of her funds was not a reason to consider her. But in a competitive cycle, having money nearby is never a bad thing, and taking the step of declaring a vice president could encourage donors to start giving no matter who he chooses. Highly sexual.

“Anything that gets him closer to voting in all 50 states and the District of Columbia is a step forward and shows people he’s sticking it out,” Lyons said. His PAC helped introduce Kennedy to voters with $7 million in advertising during the Super Bowl. Shanahan was a key figure in that advertising budget.

“I think that’s really important to donors,” he said.

President Kennedy has expressed personal admiration for several of the people in the controversy, but has remained mum about his final choices. Campaign manager Amaryllis Fox, who is also his daughter-in-law, praised Bobby’s selection, saying she “couldn’t be more thrilled with his decision,” although she did not give her name.

Historically, Mr. Kennedy is in the same position as past candidates who announced their running mate early in the election cycle and performed well.

“Having a vice president already makes RFK Jr. look somewhat attractive,” said Richard Winger, a political analyst and publisher of Ballot Access News.

“Two candidates who ran outside the major parties and did well had attractive running mates from the start. Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 had California Sen. Hiram Johnson and he was a star. They started campaigns at the same time…Roosevelt didn’t need to search.”

In contrast, Ross Perot (whose name is often associated with Kennedy in the “spoiler” connotation) does not have a fixed vice president, but rather his so-called “stand-in” who has been hired in his place. ” Winger noted that he had settled on a candidate. It’s not that serious.

“As a result, these campaigns were somewhat unsuccessful,” he says.

Despite the potential boost Kennedy may receive after Tuesday’s announcement, some strategists argue he still has a long way to go to compete with Biden and Trump. His campaign claims he has qualified for New Hampshire, Utah and Hawaii.

Meanwhile, American Values’ Lyons said he also added Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and South Carolina to his list. In two of the battleground states, Michigan and Georgia, there are already warning signs that Mr. Biden has lost support among some nonwhite voters and younger voters.

“We’re very happy to have it completed,” Lyons said of the states.

Due to the modest number of registered states, Kennedy has set a goal of having everyone on the ballot in the United States and Washington, D.C., by the fall. It is unusual for Mr. Kennedy to declare himself as vice president seven months before Election Day, but officials say it is vital that Mr. Kennedy gains access without taking too much time.

Part of President Kennedy’s optimism is due to this year’s hyperpolarization of the electorate. To strengthen his case, he often cites the metric that about 70% of voters do not want Biden or Trump as their next president. His allies are considering reasons to expect his approval ratings in some states to reach the 20s, a respectable number for any rebel faction, but with both candidates highly unfavorable. This is especially true if it is popular.

“One of the underlying assumptions of third-party operations is that they consider: [a candidate] Ron Nielson, a veteran strategist and campaign manager for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, said:

Mr. Nielson knows firsthand the difficulty of petitions for signatures in each state, as he has given Mr. Johnson ample opportunity to compete.

“There’s a lot of independent people in the population, a lot of people who are dissatisfied with the status quo, and frankly there are people who don’t like Biden or Trump,” Nielson said.

“They think if someone develops enough and looks like they have momentum, they can win.”