The head of former President Barack Obama’s winning 2012 campaign on Tuesday said Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent bid for the White House is certainly keeping his rivals “up at night.”
Jim Messina, who also served as deputy chief of staff in the Obama White House, said Democrats should “absolutely” be concerned about the influence that Mr. Kennedy has on the race because he brings an element of uncertainty for President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
“RFK is the one thing that makes the polls confusing because you just don’t know in what state who he is pulling votes from,” Mr. Messina said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “So if you are a Democrat or a Republican, yeah, he is the thing you don’t know about, and for a campaign manager that is the stuff that keeps you up at night.”
He added, “You can control everything else, but there are some things you can’t control, and let’s be honest, RFK Jr. is something you cannot control.”
A Marist national poll released Tuesday showed 14% of registered voters plan to cast their ballot for Mr. Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy.
Mr. Biden led Mr. Trump 51%-48% in a head-to-head matchup.
SEE ALSO: RFK Jr. takes fire from all sides as Biden, Trump try to kneecap his White House run
When third-party contenders were added to the mix, Mr. Biden led Mr. Trump 43%-38%, followed by Mr. Kennedy at 14%. Cornel West and Jill Stein each received 2%.
Democrats and Republicans are concerned the Kennedy campaign is going to make the electoral math harder for their nominee, particularly in battleground states.
Those fears are inching close to reality, including in Nevada and Michigan where the Kennedy campaign says he has qualified for the ballot.
Mr. Messina said the Kennedy-related concerns have peeled a scab off an old wound from the 2016 presidential race where the number of votes Ms. Stein collected in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin surpassed Mr. Trump’s margin of victory.
“You can argue Hillary Clinton lost in part because the third parties got 6% [of the vote],” Mr. Messina said.
He said the party also still has “PTSD” from the idea Ralph Nader’s third-party bid cost Al Gore the 2000 election after he won over 97,000 votes in Florida. Mr. Gore lost the state by 537 votes.
Looking to avoid a similar political nightmare, Democrats are cautioning voters against backing Mr. Kennedy or other third-party contenders.
“It’s throwing away your vote if you’re a Democrat and you vote for someone else on the ballot other than Joe Biden,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I believe that people will see that contrast of values that I’m talking about and understand that they have got to vote for Joe Biden if they want to make sure that the United States does not fall into the hands of someone who is, frankly, a sociopath, that has been indicted 91 times and is someone who would take this country back.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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