Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Tuesday that Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan will be his 2024 running mate for president.
Kennedy had also been considering New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, as well as several others like former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, according to The New York Times. The Democrat-turned-independent picked Shanahan to be his vice president because she shared his views on health, censorship, immigration and more, he said during a speech in Oakland, California.
“And I found all of those qualities in a woman who grew up right here in Oakland. The daughter of immigrants who overcame every daunting obstacle, and went on to achieve the highest levels of the American dream,” said Kennedy. “So that is why I’m so proud to introduce to you, the next vice president of the United States — my fellow lawyer, a brilliant scientist, technologist, a fierce, warrior mom, Nicole Shanahan.”
Shanahan, who is 38-years-old, donated to Kennedy’s campaign when he was running as a Democrat in May 2023, and helped fund his aligned super PAC’s Super Bowl ad, according to the NYT. The lawyer is also the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
“So these are two of my political convictions I hold today — to serve peace and to help those in poverty,” said Shanahan. “So you can understand why I gravitated to the Democratic Party, because that was supposed to be the party of peace, the party of compassion. Many Democrats, we still believe in those ideals. But unfortunately as an institution, it has lost its way. There is only one anti-war candidate today, and you won’t find him in the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. He is an independent, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
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Kennedy needed to pick a running mate to qualify for certain states’ petitions to gather signatures for ballot access, according to the NYT. The independent might have to restart the signature gathering process in Nevada, as he failed to list a vice president when filing the petition, CBS News reported on Monday.
With the help from American Values 2024, his affiliated super PAC, Kennedy is on the ticket in Utah, and is nearing access in New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and South Carolina.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and President Joe Biden’s campaign have ramped up efforts to combat what it views as the negative effects independents and third-party candidates could have on his reelection chances. The DNC created a team to combat the perceived threat, along with a coalition of lawyers to police how candidates like Kennedy gain ballot access.
The party also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in early February over American Values 2024 helping Kennedy gather ballot signatures.
Both national and key battleground state polling suggests former President Donald Trump’s lead over Biden grows when Kennedy and other third-party candidates are on the ballot, according to the RealClearPolitics averages.
