There is a range of reactions among supporters of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. since he announced the suspension of his campaign in battleground states and his backing of former President Trump’s White House bid.
Some Kennedy supporters still plan to vote for him if he’s on their state ballot, while others are hopeful a Kennedy–Trump alliance defeats Harris in November.
On Aug. 23, Kennedy stated that he is withdrawing his name from ballots in battleground states where his presence could potentially spoil the election. He encouraged voters in those states not to vote for him, but his name will remain on ballots in all other states.
Wes Farno, a Republican strategist from Ohio, believes that Kennedy’s support of Trump will have a significant impact on the election, potentially increasing Trump’s support by 3 to 4 percent in swing states.
Michelle Cotterman, a nurse and medical freedom advocate from Ohio, had planned to vote for Kennedy but is now undecided due to his decision to withdraw from battleground states. She believes that some of Kennedy’s supporters may now vote for Trump, especially if Trump follows through on giving Kennedy a prominent role in his administration.
Kennedy’s focus on addressing the chronic disease crisis was a primary reason for his presidential campaign. If Trump wins and fulfills his promises to address this issue, Kennedy believes that the burden of chronic disease in the country will decrease significantly.
Some Kennedy supporters are hesitant to trust Trump due to past incidents, such as Trump’s reversal on appointing Kennedy to head a vaccine safety commission. Despite these concerns, many Kennedy supporters are hopeful that this decision marks the beginning of a new movement in politics.
Overall, the reaction among Kennedy supporters to his alliance with Trump is mixed, with some still undecided about their voting choices in the upcoming election.
However, if Trump supporters are willing to hold him accountable and help us create our third party, this business transaction could succeed.” Kennedy announced his candidacy to challenge President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic Party nomination in Boston in April 2023. Kennedy cited his intent to unify the country and help restore traditional values to a party that had “lost its way” since his uncle, John F. Kennedy, was president in the early 1960s and his father, Robert F. Kennedy, ran for president in 1968. Most political pundits and officials from the Democratic and Republican parties dismissed Kennedy as a fringe candidate at the time. In the early months of his campaign, though, he gained support from conservatives, moderate Republicans, independents, and moderate Democrats. After encountering multiple hurdles by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and accusing the organization of “rigging the primary,” including by not allowing any candidate to compete against President Biden, Kennedy switched to independent last October. Earlier this year, the DNC announced the creation of a team to counter third-party and independent presidential candidates. It hired a veteran Democrat strategist to spearhead an aggressive communication plan to combat Kennedy, independent candidate Cornel West, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein. In recent months, the DNC has backed lawsuits in multiple states aimed at removing Kennedy from the ballot. He was in the midst of lawsuits in Pennsylvania and New York last week. “Each time that our volunteers turned in those towering boxes of signatures needed to get on the ballot, the DNC dragged us into court … attempting to erase their work and to subvert the will of the voters who had signed those petitions,” Kennedy said in his Aug. 23 speech. David Carlucci, a former Democratic New York state senator who is now a Democratic political strategist, told The Epoch Times that Kennedy’s support for Trump “changes little in the grand scheme.” “Polls show that the dwindling number of RFK Jr. supporters are splitting between Harris and Trump, with analysts agreeing that his exit will have minimal impact by Election Day,” he said. Carlucci pointed to an August Pew Research analysis that Kennedy supporters are far less motivated to vote compared to Trump and Harris supporters. “This lack of enthusiasm means that his supporters are less likely to significantly influence the outcome in battleground states, making their overall impact negligible.” Kristen Taylor, who lives in South Carolina and backs Kennedy, told The Epoch Times that she feels “sad” that the independent candidate has suspended his campaign, but is hopeful that a collaboration with Trump will lead to improvements in the chronic disease epidemic and toxins in the environment. “I do think the majority of RFK supporters will vote for Trump,” she said. “Trump’s pledge to appoint Kennedy to lead a panel to address chronic disease is a good thing, and their working together gives me more hope than I’ve had in a long time.” Eric Wilson echoed sentiments shared by some Kennedy supporters. “I’ve always had the feeling he wasn’t beholden to any political machine, and wasn’t afraid to ruffle feathers,” Wilson told The Epoch Times about why he was planning to vote for Kennedy. “I was a Trump supporter before. I feel like there is too much chaos around him, but I like him by far over Harris,” he said. In his Aug. 23 address, Kennedy said that he met with Trump to discuss joining forces in a “unity party,” which Kennedy noted is what happened when Abraham Lincoln ran for president with Andrew Jackson. Kennedy’s campaign submitted paperwork to create the “We The People” political party in January. The campaign said that filing for political party status in certain states reduced the number of signatures required for the candidate to gain ballot access. Lauren Lee is a political theorist and podcaster who lives in Virginia. She is an ardent Kennedy supporter who told The Epoch Times she will remain committed to growing the We The People Party and helping Kennedy get 5 percent of the vote, a threshold for minor parties to get federal funding. She noted that it is inaccurate to say that Kennedy dropped out of the race. He suspended his campaign in battleground states, Lee pointed out, but he can still get at least 5 percent of the vote if supporters in deep red or blue states vote for Kennedy. “The long-term strategy is to beat the two-party system altogether. To do that, we must have a strong third party, and we can only do that by reaching 5 percent of the vote nationally,” Lee said. “If we don’t have that, we’re going to continue to face these challenges every time an independent candidate runs for office where we’re warring against the DNC and we’re in this huge battle for ballot access, state by state.” Earlier this month, Kennedy reported that his campaign had collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. He also noted that his campaign had gathered more than one million signatures, demonstrating the “widespread grassroots support.” Lee said the visibility that Kennedy received in his Aug. 23 speech, followed by his address later that night when he joined Trump on the rally stage, could benefit him in the remaining weeks of the 2024 election. “That was the first time that many Americans had ever heard him speak. I’ve been inundated with friends and family texting me, saying, ‘Wow, this is the president we needed. Why hadn’t we heard from him until today?’” Lee told The Epoch Times. “Kennedy presented an opportunity to vote based on hope and not just out of fear of the other guy,” Lee said. Kristen Soha expressed her hope for achieving a 5 percent vote share to ensure that citizens can vote based on hope rather than just to prevent someone else from winning. In an interview with The Epoch Times, she mentioned her historical support for Democratic presidential candidates but intended to vote for Kennedy in the upcoming election.
Soha shared that many of her friends who support Kennedy are feeling upset and unsure about their choices. Some have even decided to vote for independent candidate Cornel West. She believes that these differing opinions provide an opportunity for discussions on common values across party lines.
Emphasizing the importance of finding common ground, Soha stated that unity is essential for bringing about change in the country. She reflected on Bobby’s decision to run for president despite his family’s tragic history, suggesting that perhaps his motivation was rooted in a desire for positive transformation.
Despite reaching out to the DNC for comment, they did not respond by the time of publication.
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