Robert F. Kennedy Jr. answered the long-anticipated question of who would join his presidential ticket on March 26 when he announced Silicon Valley lawyer, entrepreneur, and investor Nicole Shanahan as his running mate.
Mr. Kennedy’s campaign is hopeful that the decision will fuel momentum as it continues its quest to gain ballot access in all 50 states and the District of Columbia while fighting an organized effort by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to thwart that objective.
Mr. Kennedy entered the Democratic presidential primary in April 2023, intending to challenge President Joe Biden for the party’s nomination. Citing roadblocks from the Democratic National Committee and accusing the organization of “rigging the primary” for President Biden, Mr. Kennedy announced in October 2023 that he would run as an independent.
Independent and third-party presidential candidates must declare their vice presidential pick in multiple states to get on the ballot. Adding Ms. Shanahan to the ticket allows the campaign to start the signature-gathering process in those states, Stefanie Spear, Mr. Kennedy’s press secretary, told The Epoch Times.
“The campaign’s already been actively petitioning in 16 states, and 19 states open up by naming the vice president,” she said.
Before he introduced Ms. Shanahan in Oakland, California, on March 26, Mr. Kennedy told an audience of 2,000 that the ticket would be on the ballot in every state and the District of Columbia. He has said that it will take at least $15 million for the efforts required to accomplish that feat.
Fundraising will be a focus in the upcoming weeks and months. Ms. Spear said Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Shanahan will appear at some events together and at other times they will “divide and conquer” at voter rallies and fundraising events.
Mr. Kennedy closed February with access to more than $23.7 million in cash, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.
Since announcing that he would run as an independent instead of a Democrat, Mr. Kennedy has lamented the challenges that an independent candidate faces compared to Democrats and Republicans, who have no ballot access constraints.
“Nearly all of our budget is devoted to achieving ballot access in the 50 states and [the District of Columbia] so we can end these political stunts aimed at preserving power between two and only two political parties,” the campaign said in a statement.
After Ms. Shanahan was announced as Mr. Kennedy’s vice president, American Values 2024 raised $2.12 million, according to Anthony Lyons, co-chairman of the pro-Kennedy super PAC.
Mark Gorton, American Values 2024 co-chair, donated $1 million of his own money and said, “We’re looking to spend this money in transformative ways—ways that move the way the country thinks about Bobby, about our political system, and what needs to be done—because every day Bobby’s out campaigning, we’re pushing through messages. ... it’s a victory by itself.”
Mr. Kennedy so far has qualified for the ballot as an independent in Nevada, New Hampshire, and Utah and in Hawaii under the We the People party.
In January, Mr. Kennedy’s campaign stated that it had filed paperwork in six states to create a political party. The move was made to get his name on the ballots with fewer voter signatures than those states require for unaffiliated candidates.
The We the People party was established in five states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The Texas Independent Party was also formed.
American Values 2024 stated that it has collected enough valid signatures for the candidate to get on the ballot in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and South Carolina.
Collecting signatures is not the only obstacle confronting Mr. Kennedy’s campaign. Earlier this month, the DNC announced the creation of a team to counter third-party and independent presidential candidates.
It hired Lis Smith, a veteran Democratic strategist who managed Pete Buttigieg’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, to spearhead an aggressive communication plan to combat Mr. Kennedy, independent Cornel West, and Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein.
News about the DNC’s campaign followed its March 4 complaint with the FEC contending that American Values 2024 did not disclose $10 million in loans.
It marked the second time in a one-month span that the DNC has accused American Values 2024 of violating federal finance campaign law.
The FEC complaints illustrate the DNC’s attempts to destabilize Mr. Kennedy’s campaign as President Biden faces a plummeting job approval rating and mounting questions about his mental fitness.
The DNC and the president’s supporters are accusing Mr. Kennedy of being propped up by the former President Donald Trump movement, as well as highlighting similar Trump–Kennedy policy stances in the areas of border security, U.S. funding for Ukraine, and vaccine mandates.
On multiple occasions, DNC officials have called Mr. Kennedy “a stalking horse” for President Trump.
“It’s clear that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being propped up and funded by Donald Trump and his allies because they believe that he is a useful stalking horse who could throw the election Trump’s way. We need to sound that alarm every day between now and the election,” Ms. Smith said.
In March, Mr. Kennedy’s campaign threatened legal action after the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office admitted that it had made a mistake in informing his ballot access team that independent candidates must “designate a nominee for vice president” when collecting signatures to get on the ballot in the state.
Paul Rossi, Mr. Kennedy’s ballot access attorney, produced an email from one of Mr. Kennedy’s ballot access managers that asked if a vice presidential candidate must be listed on the petition forms. A staffer with the Nevada secretary of state said, “No.”
On Jan. 9, the secretary of state’s office approved Mr. Kennedy’s petition, according to documentation that Mr. Rossi has presented.
The secretary of state’s office apologized for misinforming Mr. Kennedy’s campaign but stated that it must abide by the petition-gathering law. Mr. Kennedy’s campaign could have to start over in collecting signatures in Nevada with Ms. Shanahan listed on the ticket.
Democrat Francisco Aguilar is Nevada’s secretary of state.
Mr. Kennedy has won ballot access-related lawsuits in Georgia, Idaho, and Utah.
“When I was a kid, the Democratic Party’s primary fight was to make sure that every American had the right to vote, that none of us were disenfranchised, but today’s Democratic Party is doing the opposite and is working to disenfranchise any Americans who they don’t think will vote for their agenda,” Mr. Kennedy said on March 26.
“The principal technique is to call me a spoiler and instill fear in Americans about voting for me. Our campaign is a spoiler. I agree. We’re a spoiler for President Biden and for President Trump.”
Mr. Kennedy said his campaign will “overcome these challenges” and that “we face a determined campaign to keep us off the ballot by fair means or foul.”
“Evidently, the Democrats have little faith in their candidate’s ability to win the old-fashioned way at the voting booth,” he said.
When Mr. Kennedy announced that he would run as an independent in October 2023, he said that he was “declaring his independence from the Democratic party and all political parties.”
A Gallup poll released in January indicates that more citizens identify as independent than as Democrats or Republicans. Mr. Kennedy believes that the current political landscape is ideal for electing an independent president, but speculation has mounted that he could run as a Libertarian, a move that would eliminate the ballot access hurdle.
The Libertarian Party gained ballot access in all 50 states in previous election cycles, including 2016 and 2020.
In February, he delivered a keynote speech and appeared on a presidential candidate panel at the Libertarian Party of California’s annual convention.
During an interview with CNN’s Michael Smerconish, Mr. Kennedy was asked if there was a possibility that he would seek the Libertarian Party nomination. That option would likely assure him ballot access across the country as the Libertarian Party reached that objective in 2016 and 2020.
“We are talking to the Libertarian Party. I feel very comfortable with most of the values of the Libertarian Party, and like I say, we have good relationships. I’m talking regularly to libertarian groups. So we'll continue to do those talks,” Mr. Kennedy said.
Angela McArdle, chair of the Libertarian party, met with Mr. Kennedy before the candidate decided to run as an independent in October 2023 and noted that they had talked and “we’re going to stay on friendly terms and see what happens.”
Upon learning of Ms. Shanahan’s addition to the ticket, she told NewsNation that many Libertarians are “confused” about the selection.
“I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but she doesn’t necessarily fit into alignment with any of our views,” Ms. McArdle said.
She expressed concern with Ms. Shanahan’s past support of Democratic political candidates that include President Biden, Mr. Buttigieg, and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who “doesn’t seem to respect property rights.”
“So I’m really unsure how she’s going to fit in with the Libertarian Party, and I’m anxious to hear about it,” Ms. McArdle said.
The party will hold its national convention from May 24 to May 26 in Washington.
Unlike Democrats and Republicans, the Libertarian Party selects its nominee based on votes from registered delegates at its national convention.
While Mr. Kennedy and the Libertarian Party determine if they are a fit, Mr. Kennedy said his campaign will continue its emphasis on attracting younger voters.
Ms. Shanahan is 38.
Mr. Kennedy noted that polls indicate that he is attracting young voters and pointed out a particular survey that shows that he leads all presidential candidates with voters younger than 35. He highlighted his running mate’s young age.
At multiple campaign stops this month, he has pointed to a Gallup poll showing that political independents (41 percent) now outnumber Republicans and Democrats (28 percent each).
A Gallup study in 2022 indicated that the rise of independents is driven by Generation X and millennial generation voters. The report shows that about half of millennials and more than four in 10 Gen X voters identify as independents.
A survey of registered voters conducted by Siena College and The New York Times released in early November 2023 indicated that trend in six battleground states.
Mr. Kennedy led President Biden and President Trump among voters younger than 45 in those six states.
Mr. Kennedy registered 34 percent support among voters aged 18 to 29 compared with 30 percent for President Biden and 29 percent for President Trump.
For voters aged 30 to 44, Mr. Kennedy led with 31 percent while President Biden and President Trump each collected 30 percent.
“I was most importantly looking for a partner who is a young person, and Nicole is only 38 years old. There’s a growing number of millennials and Gen Z Americans who have lost faith in their future and lost their pride in our country,” Mr. Kennedy said.
“Many in [the younger] generation have stopped believing that older people who have been running our government for so long understand them or represent their interests. That older generation that now dominates Congress, the Supreme Court, the White House is the same generation, that same people who ran up the $34 trillion debt, and millennials and Gen Z and their children will shoulder the burden.”
He said that “our independent run for the presidency is finally going to break down the Democratic and Republican duopoly” and that young voters will play a substantial role in what he believes will be a victory in November.
