Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested making a “no-spoiler” pledge with President Joe Biden during a campaign event in New York on Wednesday. This proposal comes amidst his ongoing dispute with former President Donald Trump.
As part of the pledge, Kennedy and Biden have proposed jointly financing a comprehensive 50-state poll in mid-October. This poll would involve over 30,000 individuals and would assess the performance of each candidate in a head-to-head race against Trump. The agreement stipulates that the candidate who performs the weakest against Trump will withdraw from the presidential race.
Kennedy claims that Biden, not himself, is the “spoiler” in the race, as he presented results from a campaign-commissioned poll that demonstrated his potential to win against both Biden and Trump in separate head-to-head races.
Democrats swiftly dismissed the argument on Wednesday. Matt Corridoni, spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, labeled Kennedy as a spoiler candidate in a statement. He stated, “His VEEP-like performance today does nothing to dispel that notion – it only reinforces how unserious his campaign is,” alluding to the HBO comedy.
Running initially as a Democrat, in line with the Kennedy dynasty, the presidential hopeful made the decision to switch parties and run as an Independent. In a surprising move, RFK announced Nicole Shanahan, a California-based attorney and entrepreneur, as his running mate in his ambitious quest for the White House.
According to a national poll released on April 18, RFK seems to be attracting voters in the age groups of 18 to 34 and 35 to 49 away from Trump. The poll conducted by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research showed that President Joe Biden had a slight lead over Trump by one point. However, when RFK was included in the survey, Biden’s lead over Trump increased to five points.
In a series of posts on his Truth Social account, Trump launched an attack on RFK approximately a week after the poll was made public. He labeled RFK as a Democrat “plant.”
“A vote for Junior would ultimately be an ineffective protest vote, as it has the potential to swing in either direction. However, it would only work against the Democrats if Republicans were aware of the full extent of his story,” Trump stated in a post.
RFK’s campaign has made a commitment to ensure that “Bobby” is included on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the general election on Nov. 5. However, accomplishing this feat without the backing of the Democrat or Republican party presents its challenges.
The campaign has successfully gathered enough signatures to secure ballot access in several states including New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, and Iowa. Additionally, the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket is officially listed on the ballot in Utah and Michigan.
RFK announced during the event on Wednesday that his campaign has already gathered sufficient signatures to secure ballot access in New York. However, he mentioned that they are still actively collecting more signatures.
