Robert F Kennedy Jr, who launched his campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination in April, is reportedly planning to announce a run as an independent candidate.
Mediaite reports that Kennedy intends to make the announcement on October 9 in Philadelphia. A text message viewed by the outlet reveals that his campaign is planning "attack ads" against the Democrat National Committee to "pave the way" for his announcement.
A Kennedy campaign insider told Mediaite, "Bobby feels that the DNC is changing the rules to exclude his candidacy so an independent run is the only way to go."
In July, Kennedy met with Libertarian Party chair Angela McArdle at a Memphis conference, according to a piece published by the New York Times. McArdle stated that Kennedy emphasized his commitment to running as a Democrat but considered himself very libertarian.
McArdle added, "Were aligned on a lot of issues," including concerns about the "deep state." She expressed her willingness to stay in touch in case Kennedy decides to run, stating, "And he can contact me at any time if thats the case."
Matt Bennett, a co-founder of Third Way, a Democrat group coordinating efforts to stop the No Labels group, expressed concern about Kennedy running as a Libertarian. Bennett stated, "It would be very bad... Weve been very clear that third parties in close elections can be very dangerous and would almost certainly hurt the president. That would be true of a No Labels candidate and it would be true of RFK."
According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls between September 7 and 19, Kennedy is currently around 50 points behind Biden. Biden is polling at 65 percent, while Kennedy is at 14.9 percent.
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