To paraphrase the memorable words of a prominent figure who once ran for vice president on a third-party ticket: “Who is she?” Why is she here?
With apologies to Admiral James Stockdale, a distinguished military veteran who casually asked these questions about himself as Ross Perot's running mate in his opening statement at the 1992 vice presidential debate, this It is worth seriously questioning the selection of personnel. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the announcement Tuesday.
President Kennedy has chosen philanthropist and technology entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan, 38, who has never run for office, as his running mate. At the Oakland rally where he introduced Shanahan, Kennedy described her as “my fellow lawyer, a brilliant scientist and engineer, and the mother of a brave warrior.”
“What I need is someone with a spiritual side, with compassion, with idealism, and above all with a deep love for the United States of America,” Kennedy added.
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Whatever Shanahan's other strengths, the most important reason she was chosen is that she is the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who ranks as the 10th richest person in the world on the Bloomberg Billionaires. As such, it is worthy of property. Her 2023 divorce settlement is confidential, but the Wall Street Journal reported that she is seeking more than $1 billion.
Since Mr. Shanahan is currently in the race against Mr. Kennedy, campaign finance laws allow her to funnel unlimited amounts of money into his campaign, something he desperately needs. is. His campaign is running low, with his latest federal filing reporting just over $5 million in cash on hand, making winning a spot on state ballots across the country an expensive proposition. Candidates must have the resources to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures.
So far, Kennedy, who holds approval ratings in the low double digits nationally, has only won in one state: Utah. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, alleging that he violated the law by relying on a supposedly independent super PAC to prepare his campaign.
Shanahan was already a major donor to its super PAC, American Values 2024. She donated $4 million to help pay for her bizarre 30-second Super Bowl appearance, which was manipulated from footage from the famous ad her uncle John F. Kennedy ran during the Super Bowl. 1960 campaign.
The Super Bowl commercial prompted an outcry from some relatives, many of whom have spoken out against Kennedy for spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation about vaccines. In a subsequent post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Kennedy distanced himself from the ad. I apologized for that and wrote: “I am truly sorry if the Super Bowl ad caused any pain to anyone in my family. This ad was created and aired by American Values Super PAC without any involvement or approval from my campaign. FEC rules prohibit super PACs from consulting with me or my staff.”
There is no conceivable scenario in which Kennedy actually wins the election. It is the third state since racist George Wallace carried five southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi) and won 46 electoral votes in 1968. No party candidate has ever won a single state.
But given the likely close margins in a handful of key states in 2024, it's unlikely that Kennedy or any other third-party candidate could steal enough votes to act as a spoiler. It's easy to imagine.
The general belief is that President Biden is the major party candidate most likely to be hurt by Kennedy, but the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump, is also the one most likely to be hurt by Kennedy. There is evidence that he is on the verge of losing votes in some regions. For example, a recent Fox News poll in Pennsylvania showed Trump leading Biden by 2 points in a two-person race, but Kennedy and two other independent candidates, Jill Stein and Cornell, had a two-point lead over Biden. -The tie was broken when West's name was added to the poll question. .
“Our campaign is a spoiler. I agree with that. It's a spoiler for President Biden and President Trump,” President Kennedy said.
In 2016, Green Party candidate Stein won enough votes in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania to likely hand those states to Trump and hand the election to Trump. “We learned after 2016 that we can’t ignore third parties,” said Rhys Smith, who is advising the Democratic National Committee’s efforts on third-party candidates.
But Shanahan's choices could complicate things. “She was chosen for one reason only: money,” Smith told me.
In a February interview with my colleague Michael Scherer, Shanahan said he still considers himself a “huge Democratic supporter” and that Kennedy abandoned his bid for the Democratic nomination in October. He said he was initially concerned when he ran as an independent candidate. “I was really concerned about how it would affect the election,” she said.
But in the end, “it became clear that there was more silent support for RFK than I ever imagined,” Shanahan said.
She may be right, and if he gets more votes with her money, he won't be silent anymore.
