Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Announces Nicole Shanahan as Running Mate for Presidential Campaign

TFD – Discover the latest developments as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. selects Nicole Shanahan as his running mate for the presidential campaign, impacting ballot access initiatives.

At a rally in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Nicole Shanahan, a digital entrepreneur and attorney, as his running mate.

Kennedy said, “I’m so proud to introduce to you Nicole Shanahan, my fellow lawyer, a bright scientist, a technologist, and a fierce warrior mom, as the next vice president of the United States.”

Kennedy’s quest to obtain ballot access in as many states as possible will pick up speed with Shanahan’s decision. To move the process along, nearly half call for a vice presidential selection. Kennedy’s appeal will need to be expanded, and Shanahan will also need to assist in raising funds for his lavish campaign. There has been speculation that the wealthy 38-year-old, who was previously married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, could reach into her own pockets to aid the cause.

Kennedy claimed that part of the reason he chose Shanahan was that he wanted someone who shared his beliefs about Big Tech, healthcare, and agriculture and who also fit with Kennedy’s idea of what a leader should look like.

In addition to being a talented administrator, my ideal partner would also have the gift of curiosity, an open mind, and the courage to modify even her strongest beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence. Kennedy remarked, “I wanted someone who had a spiritual component, compassion, idealism, and, most importantly, a profound love of the United States of America.”

While major-party presidential contenders usually reveal their vice presidential picks closer to their summertime nominating conventions, Kennedy is acting ahead of schedule in order to move his campaign into the next round of its ballot access initiatives.

The independent candidate, who is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and the son of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, has set a goal to be eligible to run for office in all 50 states as well as Washington, DC. Only in Utah is he now on the ballot. His campaign has said it has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in New Hampshire, Nevada and Hawaii, while a super PAC backing his White House bid has said it has collected enough signatures to qualify Kennedy in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and South Carolina.

“Already actively collecting signatures in 17 states and is kicking off its petition gathering this week in 19 additional states that are open and require a vice presidential candidate,” the Kennedy campaign announced on Tuesday.

Shanahan stated in her statements on Tuesday that she would “focus the next seven months of my life” on assisting Kennedy in reaching his ballot access objective.

But Kennedy’s eligibility for the Nevada ballot may be in peril. A representative for Nevada’s Democratic secretary of state stated in a statement to CNN on Monday that there had been “an error” in the way that the campaign was informed of ballot access guidelines. According to the law, in their petitions, contenders must “designate a nominee for Vice President.”

The secretary of state’s office denied the allegation made by Paul Rossi, a ballot access lawyer for the Kennedy campaign, that Nevada Democrats were trying to prevent the candidate from receiving ballot access in the state. Spokesman Cecilia Heston stated in the statement, “In no way was the initial error or subsequent statutory guidance made with intent to benefit or harm any political party or candidate for office.”

Democratic attempts to block Kennedy, whom they paint as a spoiler candidate who could aid former President Donald Trump in unseating President Joe Biden, are an additional obstacle to being on the ballot. In the last two months, the Democratic National Committee has filed two complaints with the Federal Election Committee, alleging that American Values 2024, a super PAC that supports Kennedy, violated campaign finance laws and improperly collaborated with the Kennedy campaign to operate its own ballot access initiative. Prior to a state elections office hearing on Thursday, the Kennedy campaign’s ballot access petition was momentarily blocked in Hawaii after the Democratic Party of Hawaii raised objections to it last week.

Shanahan, who said that Democrats were “losing their way,” and Kennedy, who supported Biden’s 2020 campaign, both attacked the Democratic Party on Tuesday.

Shanahan announced to the hundreds in attendance in Oakland, “I am leaving the Democratic Party. I do believe they have lost their way and their leadership.”

As the Kennedy campaign navigates the expensive ballot qualification process and a general election campaign against Biden and Trump, whose campaigns collectively dwarf the Kennedy team’s funding totals, Shanahan may help increase fundraising.

According to recent FEC data, the Kennedy campaign spent roughly $2.9 million and raised just $3.2 million in February, leaving it with roughly $5.1 million in the bank at the end of the campaign. $8.8 million was spent in February by American Values 2024, which included $6.2 million for a television commercial that ran during the Super Bowl. Shanahan said to The New York Times last month that she helped coordinate the commercial’s creation and gave the PAC about $4 million to broadcast the advertisement.

Kennedy has denied giving a prospective running mate’s fortune priority while considering his options.

In an interview with NewsNation last week, the candidate declared, “I would never choose a vice presidential candidate based on how much money they have.”

Aside from the fact that he needs to start collecting signatures in over half of the states that are still open, Kennedy hasn’t disclosed much about the kinds of voters he plans to introduce as his vice presidential candidate. Kennedy declared that his running partner would be “someone who was aligned with my values, optimistic about our country and its potential, and able to run the country at a moment’s notice” in an interview with CNN earlier this month.

Kennedy informed supporters on Tuesday that he chose Shanahan in part to give the “working poor” and younger voters a voice, two groups he aims to unite around.

Kennedy stated, “My goal is for Nicole to stand up for the increasing number of Americans in the millennial and Gen Z generations who have lost hope for the future and their sense of national pride.”

“She will fight for all those Americans who understand what it’s like to forgo meals in order to pay for gas, observe as food costs rise steadily, and question how they will ever manage to pay for their groceries,” he continued.

Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, former TV host Mike Rowe, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, and civil rights attorney Tricia Lindsay were among the other individuals Kennedy reportedly entertained for the running mate position.

Putting the two-party system to the test

Kennedy has never held public office, but his opposition to public health regulations and the power of money to sway decisions made by the government and private industry has won him a modest following. He started Children’s Health Defense, a group that disseminates false information about vaccines on a regular basis, and he has entertained conspiracy theories about vaccines at political gatherings.

In her statements on Tuesday, Shanahan tacitly made the incorrect claim that “pharmaceutical medicines,” such as prescription drugs and vaccines, could be a factor in the increased numbers of autism diagnoses. This was reminiscent of some of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views. She discussed her experience learning about children’s health after learning that her daughter has autism spectrum disorder.

Pharmaceutical medicine has its place, but no single safety study can evaluate the long-term effects of multiple prescriptions filled consecutively and multiple shots given consecutively throughout a child’s development. We just should perform that study today, and we don’t,” Shanahan remarked.

In April 2023, Kennedy launched her primary campaign to Biden for the presidency. He declared his intention to run as an independent last fall after withdrawing from the Democratic primary. He claimed that the two-party system has not given Americans any competitive choices for president. Kennedy family members, some of whom joined the president for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House last week, have criticized his choice to question Biden.

Kennedy has been in communication with the Libertarian Party since last year as he explores his independent presidential candidacy. As per an informed source, he reconvened with party chair Angela McArdle in February. Kennedy said he felt “very comfortable with most of the values of the Libertarian Party” in an interview with CNN earlier this year.

Even while polls indicate that Kennedy is garnering a sizable amount of support in crucial areas, Democrats are adamant that he would be a spoiler for Trump. It is unclear from which major-party candidate Kennedy would draw more support. Kennedy scored 16% in Pennsylvania in a hypothetical four-way race against Trump (40%), Biden (38%) and independent candidate Cornel West (4%), according to CNN polling from Michigan and Pennsylvania released on Friday. In a similar contest against Trump (40%), Biden (34%) and West (4%), Kennedy scored 18% in Michigan.

Kennedy garnered a majority of support from voters who had a negative opinion of both Biden and Trump, according to both surveys, even though a sizable portion of that demographic also claimed they didn’t know enough about him to form a judgment.

Kennedy expressed his hope that his campaign will serve as a forum for “homeless Republicans and Democrats” to share their stories. In response to the idea that he would be a spoiler for any candidate, he expressed confidence in his ability to beat them both.

“Our campaign is misleading. I concur with that. It is a spoiler for President Biden and for President Trump,” he said.

Researcher on third parties in the US Bernard Tamas remarked that since Americans have never been particularly interested in running mates, the hoopla around Kennedy’s announcement of his vice presidential choice may not have a significant impact.

Vice presidential contenders, especially those from significant parties, seldom advance in the electoral process. Furthermore, Tamas, a professor at Georgia’s Valdosta State University, stated that it is unlikely that the minor-party candidates will make a significant difference in an already ignorant state.

The headline and story have been changed.