Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Toys With Third Party Presidential Run As A Libertarian

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to be having second thoughts about his plan to continue his tough challenge against President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary.

He has been saying for months that he would continue his challenge against Biden instead of dropping out to launch a third-party bid. But he recently told a voter that he was keeping his “options open.”

In case Kennedy ends up leaving the party of his father, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and his uncle President John F. Kennedy, he might join the Libertarian Party, which has proved to be good at securing ballot access but does not currently have a well-known candidate.

Kennedy held a private meeting with Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle in July during a conference in Memphis. In an interview, McArdle said that Kennedy “emphasized that he was committed to running as a Democrat but said that he considered himself very libertarian.”

She further revealed that they saw eye to eye on several issues, including the threat of the “deep state” and the importance of populist messaging. “We’re aligned on a lot of issues,” she said.
McArdle added that Kennedy could contact him any time if he does decide to run.

While speaking to the libertarian magazine Reason in June, Kennedy said that he had some ideological disagreements with the Democratic Party — on issues like environmental protection, abortion and civil rights. He further stated that he had “always been aligned with libertarians on most issues.”

According to 538’s national polling average, Kennedy is trailing Biden by roughly 50 points in the Democratic primary.