Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate, proposed a “no-spoiler” agreement with President Joe Biden at a New York campaign event on Wednesday, as he navigates a tense relationship with former President Donald Trump. Kennedy’s proposal involved him and Biden co-funding a comprehensive 50-state poll in mid-October with over 30,000 respondents to gauge their strength against Trump in a two-man race.
According to the plan, the candidate who performed worse against Trump would agree to withdraw from the presidential race, thereby avoiding the risk of splitting votes and acting as a “spoiler.”
Kennedy, who started his campaign as a Democrat but switched to run as an Independent, argued that Biden, not him, was the actual spoiler in the 2024 race. To back his claim, he presented results from a campaign-commissioned poll showing he could win against both Biden and Trump in separate head-to-head contests.
In his bid for the White House, Kennedy announced California-based attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his running mate. A national poll conducted by Florida Atlantic University and Mainstreet Research, released on April 18, indicated Kennedy might draw more support from Trump supporters, particularly those aged 18-34 and 35-49, than from Biden’s base. The poll showed Biden leading Trump by a single point, but with Kennedy on the ballot, Biden’s lead increased to five points.
Trump, in a series of posts on his Truth Social account, criticized Kennedy, accusing him of being a Democrat “plant” and claiming a vote for Kennedy would be a wasted protest vote that could hurt Republicans.
Kennedy’s campaign has set a goal of achieving ballot access in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by the general election on November 5. It’s a challenging task without the backing of the Democratic or Republican parties. So far, the campaign reports they’ve gathered enough signatures for ballot access in New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, and Iowa, with the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket officially on the ballot in Utah and Michigan. During Wednesday’s event, Kennedy also claimed that his campaign had sufficient signatures for ballot access in New York, although they continue to gather more.
