Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to launch a Viva Kennedy! Latino outreach effort later this month in Los Angeles by celebrating the life of civil rights icon and labor organizer Cesar Chavez.
Mr. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and government skeptic, is fighting to tap into the goodwill the Latino community showed his father, the late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle, the late President John F. Kennedy.
Mr. Kennedy is emerging as the wild card in the presidential race.
In their Viva Kennedy! announcement Thursday, the Kennedy campaign highlighted a pair of surveys showing he is giving President Biden and former President Donald Trump a run for their money with Latino voters.
Polls show his message — a combination of fighting for the middle class, and against excessive corporate power and expressing skepticism of the political elite — is resonating with a chunk of voters.
Initially written off as an anti-vaccine, anti-government conspiracy theorist and overall political sideshow, Mr. Kennedy’s quixotic bid is garnering more and more momentum.
The 70-year-old’s decision to leave the Democratic Party that he grew up in and strike out on a third-party bid is generating concerns among supporters of Mr. Biden and former Mr. Trump that he could be a spoiler.
“My purpose is to win the election,” Mr. Kennedy told The New York Times this week, saying he fears what will happen if Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump wins.
Mr. Kennedy has added to those fears by qualifying for the ballot in Utah, New Hampshire, and Nevada, and projecting confidence in his ability to get on the ballot in other states, including Georgia and Arizona which have sizable minority populations he is targeting along with young voters.
Mr. Kennedy will add another chapter to his political story when he announces his running mate next week — a decision that has generated a lot of buzz, particularly after he teased the idea of tapping New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The Democratic National Committee has been keeping tabs and become concerned enough to create a new unit that will focus on slowing the rise of Mr. Kennedy and other third-party contenders who threaten Mr. Biden’s chances of winning reelection.
Mr. Biden’s team also is leaning on its ties to the Kennedy family, which has made it clear they have the president’s back and fear the independent presidential candidate is tarnishing the family’s legacy.
Dozens of Kennedy family members showed up at the White House over the weekend for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, sending a symbolic message about where they stand this election cycle.
A pro-Biden Clear Choices super PAC also plans to focus on kneecapping Mr. Kennedy’s bid.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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