Harris campaign officials aren’t too worried over whether independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will stay in the race or opt to team up with former President Donald Trump, in fact, they believe it would do “nothing” to affect the race.
A memo from the Democratic National Committee argued that any threat Mr. Kennedy may have posed to Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House was “neutralized” thanks to an aggressive campaign to “define” the independent candidate.
The organization labeled Mr. Kennedy as a spoiler candidate for Mr. Trump, and Mr. Kennedy’s support has been in a “free fall” since making the switch from Democrat to independent.
“Here’s what RFK Jr.’s endorsement of Donald Trump would change: nothing,” the memo from Ramsey Ried, a senior adviser to the DNC.
He noted that Mr. Kennedy is averaging roughly 5% support in recent polls, a steep decline from the double digits he received in polls early in his candidacy. If he were to drop out, his supporters, who are split between Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris, would splinter “negligible” impact on the election, Mr. Reid said.
He also accused Mr. Trump of deploying Mr. Kennedy as an asset to hurt Democrats’ chances of winning another term in the White House. If Mr. Kennedy were to endorse Mr. Trump, he said, the former president would “own all of RFK Jr.’s baggage” and have to appoint him to a “major position” in the Trump administration.
SEE ALSO: RFK Jr. withdraws from Arizona ballot amid speculation of possible alliance with Trump
Mr. Kennedy is slated to make an announcement on Friday in Arizona about his path forward in the race and is expected to end his campaign.
Mr. Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, raised eyebrows earlier this week when she said the campaign was mulling two options: drop out and team up with Mr. Trump, or stay in the race to capture at least 5% of the vote to set up a better launch pad for future third-party bids.
Ms. Shanahan admitted that Mr. Kennedy’s bid would likely draw votes from Mr. Trump, and feared that staying in the race would solidify a path to victory for Ms. Harris.
She also blamed Democrats for the Kennedy campaign’s struggles, particularly by working to block Mr. Kennedy from getting on ballots across the country and suing the campaign in “every state possible.”
Democrats reveled in the shortcomings of Mr. Kennedy’s campaign. Mr. Reid said in the memo that this race was the first time a major political party dedicated a war room to fighting a third-party candidate.
“As a result, RFK Jr.’s stalking horse campaign imploded, and voters have woken up to the binary choice they will face in November,” he said.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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