Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially withdrew from the 2024 presidential race this week as rumors swirl that he is about to throw his support behind former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, revealed on Tuesday that the campaign is mulling over aligning with Trump.
“There’s two options that we’re looking at,” Shanahan said earlier this week.
The first involves staying in the race, or “we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump,” Shanahan explained.
Pollster Rich Baris said Trump could inherit a significant portion of Kennedy’s supporters, with surveys suggesting that 40% of Kennedy’s backers would pivot to Trump if Kennedy exits.
Trump is taking an initial 40% of RFK voters when asked who they would vote for if he wasn't on the ballot.
— Rich Baris The People's Pundit (@Peoples_Pundit) August 22, 2024
Harris is taking about a quarter and the others consider not voting.
When endorsed by RFK, support for Trump increases to just over 6 in 10.
That number could jump over 60% with Kennedy’s endorsement, while Vice President Kamala Harris might capture about a quarter of his base,
“I think it was a coronation, it’s not democracy. Nobody voted. Who chose Kamala? It wasn’t voters,” RFK Jr. told ABC News about the convention.
“She [Kamala] went in four weeks from being the worst liability for the Democratic Party to the second coming of Christ without giving one interview, without showing up for a debate, without a single policy that anyone thinks isn’t ridiculous. It’s not democracy.”
Independents have surpassed Democrats in number and even briefly outstripped Republicans as the largest voter group last year, according to Axios.
The cohort has consistently made up more than a quarter of general election voters over the last decade.
The independent label is broad, it doesn’t guarantee uniform support for independent candidates.
Arizona’s independents span a large spectrum of political beliefs, making them a crucial yet unpredictable factor in any election.
However, no independent candidate has ever won a state-level or federal office in Arizona. As both camps prepare for Friday’s events, eyes will be on Kennedy’s next move.
READ: RFK Jr.: America ‘Lucky It’s Not in Civil War’ after Trump Assassination Attempt
