The re-election campaign of President Joe Biden is rolling out a concerted effort to head off the rising influence of independent and third-party candidates. Of particular concern to the Biden campaign is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been polling stronger than any other independent candidate since Ross Perot in 1992. The Biden campaign team, along with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), have brought on board a group of staffers dedicated to derailing Kennedy’s momentum.
With Kennedy announcing his running mate set for Tuesday, his campaign has been clear about their intentions to draw votes from both major party candidates. “Mr. Kennedy plans to take votes from both President Biden and former President Trump,” Stefanie Spear, press secretary for the Kennedy campaign said in a recent interview. Spear added: “Of course the DNC is worried. Kennedy has the highest favorability among the candidates and outpaces Presidents Biden and Trump among independents.”
The DNC has insisted that Kennedy is running to play spoiler and tilt the election in favor of former President Donald Trump. As evidence for their claim, the DNC has pointed to the fact that both Trump and Kennedy share a common mega-donor, businessman Tim Mellon. “We’re going to make sure voters are educated and we’re going to make sure all candidates are playing by the rules,” DNC spokesman Matt Corridoni said, describing the party’s anti-Kennedy efforts.
Earlier in the 2024 election cycle, the Democrat Party backed initiatives in several states to restrict third-party candidacies. These efforts included a media team dedicated to pushing negative news coverage of third-party candidates and a legal team to challenge ballot access.