Presidential candidate
Non-party Kennedy nephew stirs up US election campaign
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. introduces his vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan in Oakland. photo
© Eric Risberg/AP/dpa
In addition to Biden and Trump, there is also a prominent independent presidential candidate in the race for the US election. The man with the famous name now presents his deputy.
The independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy – nephew of the legendary former President John F. Kennedy – has brought a woman to his side as his deputy. On Tuesday (local time), the 70-year-old introduced his vice-presidential candidate: businesswoman Nicole Shanahan, at an appearance in the US state of California.
The wealthy lawyer and entrepreneur was married to Google co-founder and billionaire Sergey Brin from 2018 to 2023. The 38-year-old, who grew up in humble circumstances as the daughter of a Chinese immigrant, is now set to contest the rest of the election campaign with Kennedy. A victory for the duo in the November elections is considered impossible – but they could still play an important role.
Name meets wealth
The 70-year-old Kennedy from the prominent political family was a Democrat himself for decades, but has increasingly distanced himself from the party in recent years and broke away from the Democrats completely in October 2023 when he announced his presidential candidacy as a non-party. As an activist and lawyer, he advocated for environmental causes such as clean water. In the recent past, the declared anti-vaccination activist has been frequently criticized by Democrats and members of his family for spreading conspiracy myths and contact with right-wing extremist politicians.
At Shanahan’s introduction, he acknowledged, among other things, her personal background, her expertise in tech topics, artificial intelligence and health and said: “My vice president is an avid surfer.” Shanahan said she grew up on food stamps and later became rich. Now she wants to help others. The philanthropist has founded a foundation that advocates for various causes – including a healthy planet, advances in reproductive medicine and criminal justice reform. She is rich, young and well connected. Kennedy could use that for his campaign.
The duo’s success could particularly harm Biden
However, the duo has little chance in the race. In the USA, presidential candidates who are not tied to either party are considered hopeless. However, they can still challenge the Democratic and Republican candidates for decisive percentages in the often close elections for the White House. This could also be the case in the upcoming election – and, above all, harm the Democratic incumbent Joe Biden.
Kennedy must try to meet the necessary requirements in all 50 states on his own to get on the ballot. So far this is only the case in Utah. His campaign team says it has collected enough signatures to qualify him for election in New Hampshire, Nevada and Hawaii. In addition, a so-called political action committee says it has collected enough signatures to put Kennedy on the ballot in the battleground states of Arizona and Georgia as well as Michigan and South Carolina.
Kennedy is dependent on vice
In some states, a “running mate” is a prerequisite for running in the presidential election. This is another reason why Kennedy is likely to be relatively early in announcing Shanahan. She said Tuesday she plans to spend the next seven months trying to get Kennedy on “every single ballot in this country.” The presidential candidates from the two major parties usually announce their vice presidential candidates shortly before the nomination conventions in the summer.
Biden (81) wants to run for a second term in the presidential election in November. Former President Donald Trump (77) is in the race for the Republicans. In the internal party primaries, both have already secured the necessary number of delegates for the respective nomination party conferences in the summer, where they will be officially elected. Polls predict a close race between the two. Biden will once again be running as a team with his previous deputy, Kamala Harris. Trump has not yet announced who he has chosen as his running mate.