Robert F. Kennedy Jr. selected Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, a move that will help in his quest to gain ballot access across all 50 states.
After reviewing a long list of requirements for his running mate, Kennedy said he “found all of those qualities” in the 38-year-old Shanahan.
“The daughter of immigrants who overcame every daunting obstacle and went on to achieve the highest levels of the American dream,” Kennedy said. “So that is why I’m so proud to introduce to you the next vice president of the United States, my fellow lawyer, a brilliant scientist, technologist, a fierce warrior mom: Nicole Shanahan.”
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Shanahan is a political novice who has donated to Democrats in the past and helped fund a Super Bowl ad from the super PAC supporting Kennedy with a $4 million donation this year, which led to Kennedy apologizing to his famous family members.
Kennedy’s running mate said she didn’t know much about Kennedy at first but changed her mind after listening to interviews of the Kennedy scion. “I recognize that the person who I was seeing in these interviews was the exact opposite of the media slander of his character,” she said.
The wide-ranging group of people considered to be Kennedy’s running mate included NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura.
Kennedy’s independent presidential campaign is struggling to meet the threshold for all 50 state ballot requirements after he left the Democratic primary.
But with the announcement of Shanahan as his running mate, roughly half of the nation’s states will allow Kennedy to apply for ballot access provided he meets signature and other requirements as well.
In Nevada, Kennedy claimed he had garnered more than 15,000 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot but didn’t designate a vice presidential pick, which could result in him having to re-collect the signatures again. Kennedy has secured ballot access in Utah.
His campaign slammed the Nevada requirement in a press release late Monday night.
“After successfully collecting all of the signatures we need in Nevada, the DNC Goon Squad and their lackeys in the Nevada Secretary of State’s office are outright inventing a new requirement for the petition with zero legal basis,” said Kennedy campaign ballot access attorney Paul Rossi. “The Nevada statute does not require the VP on the petition. The petition does not even have a field for a VP on it. The state confirmed that the petition does not require a VP in writing on Nov. 14. The state approved our petition without a VP on it in writing on Jan. 9.”
In California, where the running mate announcement was held, supporters are aiming to get Kennedy on the ballot through the “We the People” Party.
Shanahan could use her wealth to help bankroll the Kennedy ticket’s ballot access quest, but it’s unclear whether Shanahan will do so.
She made an allusion to the issue when she said she would “spend the next seven months of my getting him on each and every ballot in this country. We’re going to do it.”
Her youth will be an advantage to Kennedy, 70, and President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 77.
“I’m grateful that Nicole has put her self-interest aside and made the momentous and very, very difficult decision to embark with me on this extraordinary crusade to win back our country,” Kennedy said to applause.
“I was most importantly looking for a partner who is a young person. And Nicole is only 38 years old. And I wanted that because I want the goal to be a champion,” he added. “There is a growing number of millennials and Gen Z Americans who have lost faith in their future and lost their pride in our country.”
Kennedy garners 12.3% in a three-way matchup with Biden, at 35.3%, and Trump, at 40.7%, according to a RealClearPolitics poll average.
The long-shot campaign could act as a spoiler in the general election matchup between Biden and Trump in November.
Democrats have gone on the offense against Kennedy and other independent or third-party candidates who could pull just enough votes to sink Biden’s reelection efforts. The Democratic National Committee hosted a press call with reporters immediately following Kennedy’s event to push back against his presidential run, as Shanahan and Kennedy trumpeted leaving the Democratic Party.
Democratic lawmakers Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), Lt. Governor Austin Davis (D-PA), and Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow (D) blasted Kennedy’s running mate announcement as “bizarre.”
Yet the leaders acknowledged that with the 2024 election likely to be a close election, they were not going to underestimate the ability of Kennedy to spoil the election and help Trump get reelected.
“Let’s also be very clear who this vice presidential pick is,” Garcia said. “I mean, we’re talking about someone that has been a mega donor already to his own super PAC. He’s out of money. He’s not raising the funds he needs. So of course he’s going to turn to donors. He’s turning to Trump mega donors to really support this really spoiler campaign.”
“There is absolutely no path for Kennedy to become president and he knows that. That is why he picked a VP who can fund who can buy his way onto the ballot in a number of states,” said Mallory. “First of all, that’s disgusting, and it is an abuse of our democracy.”
Austin concurred there was no path for Kennedy to succeed in Pennsylvania. “All he can do is take away votes from President Biden and make it easier for Donald Trump to win and we simply can’t afford to let that happen,” he said.
The moderate Democratic group Third Way slammed Kennedy and Shanahan in a statement sent out Tuesday.
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“None of the third-party candidates—Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., No Labels, Cornell West, or Jill Stein—have even a prayer of winning,” said Matt Bennett, executive vice president for public affairs at Third Way. “But they could spoil the race and help return Donald Trump to power. What RFK is doing is a disgrace to the Kennedy name and a disaster for the country.”
“Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Nicole Shanahan have only one chance of seeing the inside of the Oval Office: if Trump wins and invites them in to say thank you,” Bennett continued. “Everyone in the anti-Trump coalition must do everything in our power to limit the damage they do in November.”
