Robert F Kennedy Jr could run as Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate
Robert F Kennedy Jr is in talks to become a presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party, abandoning his independent status and making him eligible for the ballot in many more states in November’s election.
The 70-year-old former environmental lawyer is in contact with Angela McArdle, the chair of the party, about linking his one-man campaign with the US’s third-biggest political force.
The move would make it easier for Mr Kennedy to get onto the ballot in states that have high barriers for third-party candidates, and give him access to a campaign network of libertarian supporters.
Mr Kennedy, who is the nephew of John F Kennedy, has surprised observers with a strong performance in opinion polls since he announced his bid for the White House in October.
Some polls put his support as high as 22 per cent of the vote, while Donald Trump and Joe Biden jostle for first place.
His campaign has been hampered by the qualification rules for candidates, which are different across the US and require presidential hopefuls to demonstrate a broad base of support with millions of signatures on a petition.
Mr Kennedy is thought to have reached the nomination bar in around eight of the country’s 50 states, including in some key swing races.
Both the Democrat and Republican parties are reportedly concerned that a strong performance for Mr Kennedy in swing states could damage their campaigns – with pollsters generally agreeing that he could take votes from either side.
Politico reported on Monday that Mr Kennedy was under discussion in Libertarian Party circles ahead of the group’s national convention on May 24, where it will choose a nominee.
Although state branches of the party are now preparing to vote on their preferred nominee, delegates to the convention are not obliged to vote in line with their state’s preference.
Mr Kennedy has previously said he is a libertarian, and has argued against Covid-era lockdown policies and vaccine mandates by the federal government.
On Tuesday, he is expected to announce his running mate in a press conference in Oakland, California.
Several names are thought to have been under discussion for his pick, including Aaron Rodgers, an NFL player, although he is likely to have settled on Nicole Shanahan.
Ms Shanahan is a California-based attorney and former wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
