For one-third of America's Democratic voters, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would win if he ran as an independent in the 2024 presidential e...
For one-third of America's Democratic voters, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would win if he ran as an independent in the 2024 presidential election, according to a new survey. This could potentially put a big advantage on former President Donald Trump's reelection bid.
If the Democrats and Republicans nominate current President Joe Biden and Trump respectively, and Kennedy runs as a third party, 33 percent of Democratic voters would "likely" vote for him, as per the recent Rasmussen Reports poll, including 14 percent who would be "very likely" to back him. Among likely voters as a whole, 25 percent said they would likely vote for Kennedy if he ran against Biden and Trump, including 14 percent of Republicans, with 10 percent saying they are "very likely" to cast their ballots this way.
The poll, which engaged 998 "U.S. likely voters" by telephone and online survey from September 17-18, also indicated that 41 percent of Democrats have at least a somewhat favorable view of the late President John F. Kennedy's nephew along with 56 percent of Republicans and 49 percent of those without party affiliation. In total, 49 percent of likely voters view RFK Jr. favorably, including 14 percent very favorably, while 37 percent have an unfavorable opinion of him.
According to Newsweek, Kennedy has emerged as Biden's closest challenger for the 2024 Democratic Party since announcing his White House bid in April. Despite his party affiliation, RFK Jr. has "received a sympathetic hearing from many conservatives" because of his stand on the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) jabs. He is totally against the vaccine. Fox News star Sean Hannity even considered him as the Democrats' "best option" to beat Biden.
His campaign spokesperson pointed out the fact that Biden is so unpopular and a third of Democrats expressing to vote for an independent candidate in the general election underscores the importance of running a fair and competitive primary election. "If the DNC [Democratic National Convention] fails to do that, it will likely be saddled with a weak candidate who lacks the popular appeal to defeat the Republicans, whether or not there is a strong third-party candidate in the race," the campaign representative emphasized.
As per the news outlet, if 33 percent of Biden's voters backed a third-party candidate in 2020, he would have lost just under 27 million votes, which could pave the way back for Trump for a second term in the White House.
RFK Jr. asks Biden for Secret Service protection following arrest of armed man pretending to be U.S. Marshal
Amid his favorable figures in surveys, "enemies could be threatened." Apparently, Kennedy requested Secret Service protection from the president after an armed man was arrested on Friday near an event where he was speaking. The incident took place near the Wilshire Ebell Theatre where Kennedy was delivering an address to mark Hispanic Heritage Month, less than two miles from where his father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968. The candidate confirmed that the man was not part of his security team.
According to ABC News, Kennedy's private security team provided by Gavin de Becker and Associates, detained 44-year-old Adrian Paul Aispuro after being arrested for allegedly being armed with two pistols and a fake U.S. Marshal's badge. While the Los Angeles District Attorney's office declined to file felony charges, the city's attorney decided to charge Aispuro with carrying a loaded firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and impersonating an officer. He was released on bond Friday.
"Although it is a well-known historical fact, apparently, in your case, it bears repeating: Mr. Kennedy's uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. Mr. Kennedy's father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated while a presidential candidate," Kennedy's campaign manager Dennis Kucinich said earlier this week in an open letter addressed to Biden and circulated to the press. He added: "The threat level to our candidate is increasing every day. He is not the only one in danger, every person who attends a campaign event is at risk. A specter of violence haunts our political process. Indeed, political assassinations pose a grave threat to democracy." The spokesperson also lambasted Biden's administration for denying Secret Service coverage for their candidate, "who has polled more than 20 percent in the first five primary states, and whose net favorability rating exceeds both Biden's and Trump's."
Back in July, a similar incident occurred when a man broke into Kennedy's home while he was out of town. In a memo posted to Kennedy's SubStack, Becker said that "the intruder was subsequently arrested, after which it was confirmed that he had a history of delusional ideation regarding the candidate, having been arrested a year earlier in a similar approach." The initial request for government protection was also rejected after Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a letter back then that it was determined a detail was "not warranted at this time" after consulting with a bipartisan congressional advisory committee.
No comments