RFK Jr. picks lawyer Shanahan as running mate
OAKLAND, Calif. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. chose Nicole Shanahan on Tuesday to be his vice presidential pick as he mounts an independent White House bid that has spooked national Democrats.
Shanahan, 38, is a California lawyer and philanthropist who has never held elected office. Shanahan leads Bia-Echo Foundation, an organization she founded to direct money toward issues including women’s reproductive science, criminal justice reform and environmental causes.
Kennedy, a former Democrat, made the announcement in Oakland.
“Nicole and I both left the Democratic Party,” he said. “Our values didn’t change. The Democratic Party did.”
Shanahan, who grew up in Oakland, mentioned her humble childhood and affluence as an adult.
“The purpose of wealth is to help those in need. That’s what it’s for,” she said Tuesday. “And I want to bring that back to politics too.”
Without the backing of a party, Kennedy faces an arduous task to get on the ballot, with varying rules across the 50 states. He’s picking a running mate now because about half of the states require him to designate one before he can apply for ballot access.
Kennedy has secured access to the ballot in Utah.
He and an allied super PAC, American Values 2024, say they’ve collected enough signatures to qualify in several other states, including swing states Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, but election officials there have not yet signed off.
He began his campaign as a primary challenge to Biden but last fall said he’d run as an independent instead.
Kennedy was a teen when his father was assassinated during his own presidential campaign in 1968.