The Independent political candidate now faces ballot access and DNC issues as his vice presidential nominee after Nicole Shanahan has been chosen as his vice presidential get.
On March 26, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Nicole Shanahan as his running mate in response to the long-awaited question of who would meet his presidential seat.
The decision is expected to help Mr. Kennedy’s plan, which is battling an organized effort by the Democratic National Committee to prevent that goal, as it moves forward with its desire for poll exposure in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
In April 2023, Mr. Kennedy formally contested Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential election. Mr. Kennedy announced past October that he would run as an Independent after receiving obstacles from the Democratic National Committee and accusing the group of “rigging the key” for President Biden.
To be eligible for the ballot, separate and third-party presidential candidates must name their vice presidential choice in many states. Adding Ms. Shanahan to the solution allows the plan to launch the signature- getting process in those states, Mr. Kennedy’s press secretary, Stefanie Spear, told The Epoch Times.
” The campaign’s previously been positively petitioning in 16 state, and 19 says open up by naming the evil leader”, she said.
Before Mr. Kennedy introduced Ms. Shanahan in Oakland on March 26, he explained to a crowd of 2, 000 that the solution may be put on the ballot in every condition and the District of Columbia. He has stated that the work required to accomplish that feat will require at least$ 15 million.
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In the forthcoming weeks and months, funding will be a top priority. Ms. Lance claimed that Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Shanahan may look at various events while they will “divide and overcome” at vote demonstrations and fundraising events.
Mr. Kennedy closed February with access to more than$ 23.7 million cash, according to Federal Election Commission ( FEC ) filings.
Since announcing that he would run as an Independent rather than a Democrat, Mr. Kennedy has lamented the difficulties that an Independent candidate faces in opposition to Democrats and Republicans, who have no restrictions on vote exposure.
The campaign said in the speech,” Nearly all of our budget is dedicated to achieving vote exposure in the 50 states and [the District of Columbia] so we can stop these political stunts aimed at keeping energy between two and only two political parties.”
After Ms. Shanahan was announced as Mr. Kennedy’s evil leader, American Values 2024 raised$ 2, 120, 000, according to Anthony Lyons, co- president of the pro- Kennedy big PAC.
That money was raised at an occasion in Oakland after the news. Mr. Lyons said that it marked the subsequent- highest find the party has raised at a single event, trailing just the$ 5.8 million it collected at Mr. Kennedy’s 70th birthday party in January.
National Values 2024 co- head Mark Gorton donated$ 1 million of his own funds and said,” We’re looking to spend this money in revolutionary ways—ways that move the way the country thinks about Bobby, about our social system, and what needs to be done—because every day Bobby’s out campaigning, we’re pushing through emails … it’s a win 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 said it had filed paperwork in six states to create a political party. His name was put on the ballots in those states where it is required for unaffiliated candidates with fewer voter signatures than those states.
The We the People party was established in five states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Additionally, the Texas Independent Party was established.
American Values 2024, a super PAC working to get Mr. Kennedy elected, said 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. The DNC announced earlier this month that a team would be formed to challenge independent and third-party 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 Jill Stein.
Following its March 4 complaint with the FEC, which claimed American Values 2024 did not disclose$ 10 million in loans, news about the DNC’s campaign came in.
The DNC has claimed twice in a single month that American Values 2024 has violated federal finance campaign law.
As President Biden’s job approval rating falls and questions about his mental capacity grow, the DNC’s complaints about the FEC allegations serve as examples of how the party tried to destabilize Mr. Kennedy’s campaign.
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.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being supported and funded by Donald Trump and his supporters because they think he would make a good stalking horse to support Donald Trump in the election. We need to sound that alarm every day between now and the election”, Ms. Smith said.
After the Nevada Secretary of State’s office admitted to making a mistake in informing his ballot access team that independent candidates must “designate a nominee for vice president” when collecting signatures to be cast on the state’s ballot, Mr. Kennedy’s campaign threatened legal action.
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 state department employee for the state of Nevada 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 offered an apology for disclosing Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, but stated that it must abide by the law governing petition gathering. With Ms. Shanahan listed on the ticket, Mr. Kennedy’s campaign may need to start resurging in Nevada.
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 child, the Democratic Party’s main objective was to ensure that every American had the right to vote and that none of us were denied, but the Democratic Party today is doing the opposite and is working to disenfranchise any Americans who do n’t believe will support their agenda,” Mr. Kennedy said on March 26.
The primary method is to label me a spoiler and frighten Americans into voting for me. Our campaign is a spoiler. I agree. We’re a spoiler for President Biden and for President  , Trump”, he added.
Mr. Kennedy added that 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”.
When Mr. Kennedy made the announcement that he would run for independent in October, he claimed he was “declaring his independence from the Democratic party and all political parties.”
More people identify as Independent than Democrats or Republicans, according to a Gallup poll conducted in January. Although Mr. Kennedy believes the political climate is conducive to an independent president’s election, there is growing rumors that he could run as a Libertarian, which would remove the bar to voting on the ballot.
In previous election cycles, including 2016 and 2020, The Libertarian Party gained access to ballots in all 50 states.
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. Given that the Libertarian Party has already accomplished that goal in 2016 and 2020, that option is likely to give him ballot access across the nation.
” We are speaking with the Libertarian Party,” the party said. 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.
Before the candidate decided to run as an independent, Angela McArdle, chair of the Libertarian party, met with Mr. Kennedy and noted that they had spoken and that” we’re going to stay on friendly terms and see what happens.”
Upon learning of Ms. Shanahan’s addition to the ticket, Ms. McArdle told NewsNation that many Libertarians are” confused” about the selection.
” I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but she does n’t necessarily fit into alignment with any of our views”, Ms. McArdle said.
Ms. McArdle expressed concern with Ms. Shanahan’s past support of Democrat political candidates that include President Biden, Mr. Buttigieg, and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who “does n’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 added.
The party will hold its national convention from May 24–26 in Washington.
The Libertarian Party chooses its nominee based on votes cast by registered delegates at the national convention, unlike Democrats and Republicans.
While Mr. Kennedy and the Libertarian Party decide whether they are suitable, Mr. Kennedy said that the campaign will continue to put an emphasis on converting younger voters.
Ms. Shanahan is 38.
Mr. Kennedy made note of polls that indicated he was drawing young voters, and of a survey that revealed that he surpassed all candidates for president with voters under the age of 35. He highlighted his running mate’s young age.
He has pointed to a Gallup poll that showed that political Independents ( 41 % ) now outnumber Republicans and Democrats ( 28 % ) at various campaign stops this month.
According to a Gallup study conducted in 2022, Generation X and millennial generation voters are at the heart of the rise of independents. According to the report, more than four in ten Generation X voters identify as Independents and about half of millennials.
In six battleground states, according to a survey of registered voters conducted by Siena College and The New York Times and released in early November 2023, there were a
President Biden and President Trump numbered among voters under the age of 45 in those six states under Mr. Kennedy.
Compared to 30 percent for President Biden and 29 percent for President Trump, Mr. Kennedy received 34 percent of the votes 18 to 29.
For voters aged 30–44, Mr. Kennedy led with 31 percent while President Biden and President Trump each collected 30 percent.
” Nickie is only 38 years old, and I was most definitely looking for a young partner.” According to Mr. Kennedy, there are becoming more and more Gen Z Americans and millennials who are losing faith in their country and their futures.
” Many in the younger generation have stopped believing that older people who have been in charge of our government for so long understand them or act in their interests,” said one member of the group. The same generation that currently controls Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House is the same generation that the same people who racked up the$ 34 trillion debt and millennials and Gen Z and their children will bear the cost.
According to Mr. Kennedy, “our independent run for president is finally going to end the Democratic and Republican duopoly,” and young voters will play a significant role in what he anticipates will be a victory in November.
