Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s independent presidential candidacy continues to pose a potential threat for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 bid to reclaim the White House. A new HarrisX overnight poll shows Trump defeating President Joe Biden 53 to 47 percent in a head-to-head 2024 election. However, when third-party candidates are added, potential pitfalls for the Trump campaign appear.
The poll indicates Kennedy may be drawing upwards of 10 points of support from former President Trump, while pulling six points from Biden. Trump is only able to maintain his lead over Biden because a potential third-party bid by radical Harvard professor Cornel West pulls an additional 4 points of support from the Democrat President. Absent West’s candidacy, Trump would likely only lead Biden by 2 points in a three-way race – within the margin of error.
Republicans have, for some time, been raising the alarm over the impact Kennedy could have on the 2024 presidential race. Donald Trump, Jr. has warned Kennedy’s candidacy is specifically designed to hurt his father’s chances of victory against Biden, stating in October: “It legitimately always felt like it was a Democrat plant to hurt the Trump thing… He wouldn’t be there if the Democrats didn’t want him.” FEC data shows Kennedy, Jr. is pulling in three-times as many Trump donors as Biden donors.
In an interview last week, The National Pulse’s own Raheem Kassam warned conservative supporters of Kennedy they are being duped: “Obviously, if you look at RFK’s track record he’s incredibly left-wing. He’s not just left-wing, but he’s supported both far-left progressive philosophy while also backing globalist left, establishment left politicians almost his entire life.”
Despite former President Trump leading Biden in five of six battleground states and only trailing by 10 points in far-left New York state, the possibility that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appearing on the ballot in critical swing states continues to be a top concern for Republicans.
🇺🇲 NATIONAL POLL: @Harris_X_ (B)
Trump 53% (+6)
Biden 47%
—
Trump 43% (+6)
Biden 37%
RFK Jr. 16%
West 4%
—
GOP PRES:
Trump 62% (+51)
DeSantis 11%
Haley 10%
Ramaswamy 4%
Christie 2%• @TheMessenger | with leaners
• 3,017 RV | 1,100 GOP RVs | 11/15-19https://t.co/x2ooK4xdzo pic.twitter.com/kEMIPqviPW— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) November 21, 2023