Recently, Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, outlined the possible course of action they can take ahead of the election. Despite the absolute certainty of loss in November, Kennedy and Shanahan are presented with a couple of strategic routes they could take to have an overall impact on U.S. politics.
As Shanahan illustrated, she and RFK Jr. could stay in the race and attempt to secure enough votes to be registered as an official party. However, the vice presidential candidate noted this could spell victory for the Harris-Walz campaign as they might draw a substantial number of votes away from former President Donald Trump. “So you know, there’s two options that we’re looking at, and one is staying in forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris…Kamala Harris and Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump,” she said.
However, she also noted the possibility of dropping out of the race and endorsing the Trump-Vance campaign. “We draw somehow more votes from Trump, or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. And you know, we walk away from that and we explain to our base, why we’re making this decision. Not easy. Not an easy decision,” Shanahan continued.
Earlier in the segment, Shanahan outlined the 5% vote threshold needed to establish themselves as a party. “It tells me right now. What my gut tells me right now is that we just have to keep being honest. I gotta just keep being honest. I gotta keep focusing on what matters the most outside of party lines, I need to focus on a vision that goes beyond November, and if that means that we stay in, and you know, there’s benefits to staying in, if we get over 5% of The vote, we actually establish ourselves as a party.”
RFK Jr.’s running mate illustrated the demand for a disruption in the two-party system, stating, “71% of Americans want a strong third party with a real shot at winning. There’s even public funds available if we get over 5% of the vote so we could get, I think it’s like 13 and a half million dollars in public funds to keep the party going. And that’s, you know, that’s worth something. That means that we can position for a real third party election in 2028 where we don’t have to go around and spend 10s of millions of dollars on ballot access, which means that we can spend all of that time and money campaigning.”
Shanahan explained that she simply wanted an honest chance to participate in the election. “I really wanted a fair shot at this election, and I believed in the America I as a little girl pledged allegiance to, and that is not where we are today,” she said in the interview. “We wanted to win. We wanted a fair shot.” However, if they choose to side with Trump, they would need to assess his commitment to their values.
She continued, “The question we have to ask ourselves right now is, one, do we trust Trump and his personal sincerity to really do the right thing for our country, end chronic disease, balance the budget, end these forever wars? Is he somebody that’s going to continue to invite people like Bobby and I into the conversation, or is he going to fall victim again to things that he fell victim to in his first administration?”
Watch Shanahan below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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