Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wants to be an Independent Presidential Candidate, but he is finding out that you need a recognized political party’s backing to get on the ballot in most states.
And to get on the ballot as a third party or Independent, RFK Jr. needed to announce who his running mate was much earlier than Biden or Trump were required to do.
Now he has made his choice, which will make it hard for him to get the backing of the largest third party.
Libertarian Party leaders unsure of RFK Jr.’s running mate
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has chosen San Francisco Attorney Nicole Shanahan to be his running mate, but not everyone is thrilled with his choice.
The candidate has been running as an Independent, but there have been talks that he may try to switch to the Libertarian party on the ticket.
Even former President Donald Trump had something to say about his pick for Vice President, stating that it was “great for MAGA” since he thinks Shanahan is even further to the Left than Kennedy is.
But Trump isn’t the only one who thinks the new Vice President candidate is a bit too liberal for their liking.
Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle has voiced her concerns about Shanahan being part of their party’s potential bid for office.
Speaking to NewsNation’s The Hill, McArdle said, “So I’m really unsure how she’s going to fit in with the Libertarian party. You know, I’m anxious to hear about it. I think that a lot of Libertarians are a little bit confused over why he chose Nicole Shanahan. I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but she doesn’t necessarily fit into alignment with any of our views.”
“I think that he’s going to have to really show us, and she certainly will as well, that they care about individual and economic freedom in particular, and that they want to continue to be, you know, they want to be our standard-bearers. And I certainly understand, you know, that they’re not going to come into alignment with us on every single issue,” she added.
In February, RFK Jr. met with McArdle, which prompted the media to report that he may be considering a run on the party’s ticket.
Doing so would help him to appear on the ballot in all 50 states.
RFK Jr. has a party problem
Initially, Kennedy began his campaign as a Democrat Party member to directly challenge President Joe Biden.
Eventually, he decided to run as an Independent and currently has an average of 10.4% support based on data from RealClearPolitics.
Meanwhile, Shanahan has now said she will leave the Democrat Party.
Kennedy has recently started to cause people to speculate that he may switch to the Libertarian Party ticket in November.
However, as of now, McArdle said no decision has been made on whether or not the party will put RFK Jr. on the ticket, noting that choosing Shanahan is not helping his case.
According to McArdle, the Libertarian Party wants a candidate “who’s going to be radical.”
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
