The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
WHY ROBERT KENNEDY JR’S CAMPAIGN HAS BID EN SW EATING IN KEY STATES
ROBERT FRANCIS KENNEDY JR, known as Rfk jr, is con testing in the upcoming united States presidential election as an independent, with hopes of disrupting the expected Joe Biden-donald Trump re-match.
On Tuesday, he named Nicole Shanahan, a 38-year old Silicon Valley attorney and entrepreneur, as his running mate. RFK Jr hopes that Shanahan’s deep pockets, rags-to-riches story, and tech sector expertise will invigorate his campaign, which, some political analysts say, has the Biden campaign sweating.
Kennedy scion, anti-vaxxer
RFK Jr is the son of former US attorney general and senator Robert F Kennedy, and the nephew of former US President John F Kennedy. The 70-yearold has made his career, first as an lawyer, and then as an activist and politician, milking his family legacy.
After completing laws chool,rfk jr had a short stint as assistant district attorney for manhattan, following which he forayed into environmental law. He worked as an attorney for the natural resources defense Council, and led Riverkeeper, a nonprofit committed to safeguarding New York’s Hudson River. In 1999, Time magazine hailed him as a“hero for the planet” for his environmental activism.
Over the past two and a half decades, RFK Jr has been one of the leading antivaccine voices in the US, responsible for spreading numerous scientifically debunked conspiracy theories, most notably, the theory which links the incidence of autism to vaccines.
According to a report by the American The Week magazine, he “penned an article…that claimed there were links between autism and the thimerosal compound found in vaccines… This essay was torn apart by researchers and journalists who identified multiple errors and seemingly deliberate instances of Kennedy slicing and dicing transcripts and research to prove his conspiracy theory”.
Like his father and uncle, RFK Jr has been a lifelong Democrat. He even challenged President Biden in the party’s primaries last year.
Potential spoiler candidate
While no third-party candidate in history has sniffed the US presidency — RFK Jr is unlikely to change this fact — there is nonetheless significant media buzz surrounding the campaign. Some of it has to do with the Kennedy name, but experts also say that the septuagenarian has got the Democratic establishment worried.
According to Realclearpolling, Kennedy is currently averaging about 12 per cent in the presidential polls — not enough to win the presidency, but more than enough to play spoilsport. Celinda Lake, a pollster associated with the Democratic Party, told Vox thatpollingsuggeststhatkennedywill pull voters from Biden.
His campaign seems to be resonating withtheso-called“double-haters”—those opposed to both Republican nominee Donald Trump and Biden. “He’s filling a vacuum. And that vacuum is this disaffected voter vacuum,” Ipsos political analyst Clifford Young told Vox.
Political commentator Chuck Rocha noted: “Sure, he’s a crazy anti-vaxxer, and conspiracy theorist...but at the end of the day, his last name is still Kennedy, and I believe that will allow him to gain way more Democratic votes than Republican”.
RFK Jr’s biggest challenge will be to get on the ballot in all 50 states, all of which have their own election rules. The Democratic Party has recently set up a legal team to make sure this does not happen — especially in key swing states.
Current polling indicates that former President Donald is likely to win the presidency. But the election will be close, no matter who wins, with seven-eight swing states holding the key to the White House.