Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has abandoned his bid for the Democratic nomination to run for president as an independent—and while polls show that the anti-vaccine activist is more popular with Republicans than Democrats, analysts suspect he might take more votes away from President Biden than Donald Trump. Matt Bennett at left-leaning political strategy firm Third Way tells Reuters that Trump's support is "limited" but "very stable," while Biden supporters might be more likely to pick a third-party candidate. "Voters who would reluctantly pick Biden in a head-to-head with Trump might jump at the chance to vote for a Kennedy, even if they don't know much about him," Bennett says.
According to Reuters/Ipsos polling from last month, Kennedy has a higher favorability rating than either Biden or Trump, with 51% compared to 45% for Biden and 40% for Trump, though RealClearPolitics found that Biden had a 50-point lead over Kennedy in the Democratic race. Kennedy's poll numbers have declined in recent months, though he still has support among what the New York Times describes as a "particular cross-section of skeptical Democrats, political conservatives, and independents."
Kennedy is one of the 11 children of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated while running for president in 1968. In a statement posted on X Monday, four of his siblings condemned his decision to run as a third-party candidate as "dangerous to our country," Mediaite reports. "Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision, or judgement. Today's announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country," said the statement from Kerry Kennedy, Rory Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy II, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. (More Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stories.)
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