In the latest big news for the highly anticipated presidential election in November, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has officially rescinded his presidential bid in the state of Arizona.
So far, the former Democrat has split some votes between the two parties. He is well-known for his hesitation regarding Big Pharma and vaccines—which gained him some favor among conservatives during the pandemic—but leans more liberal on other issues, such as abortion. His presidential campaign threatened to steal votes from both sides of the political aisle.
But rumors have been circulating recently which suggest he is about to drop out of the running all together and put his support behind GOP former president Donald Trump. Kennedy’s paperwork to be removed from the Arizona ballot was filed days after his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said that their team remaining in the race would only benefit Kamala Harris and her campaign, which launched after President Joe Biden’s unexpected drop out last month.
Democrats have also put time and effort into attacking the Kennedy campaign, presumably to the point where they would not want to support the Democratic ballot. According to Shanahan, their campaign could stay in the race but would “draw votes from Trump” at higher rates than it would from the Harris and Walz campaign.
On the other hand, the Kennedy campaign could choose to “walk away” now and instead “join forces” with the GOP ticket. She added that such a decision would be “explain[ed]” to their supporters.
The comments from Shanahan and the team’s request to be removed from the Arizona ballot comes shortly after inside sources revealed that there was a possibility of Kennedy dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump. According to that information, both politicians are scheduled to be at events in the Phoenix area on Friday August 23, when Kennedy is expected to tell supporters about “his path forward” and Trump has teased a special guest.
Trump’s son, Donald Jr., has been working alongside prominent GOP supporters Omeed Malik and Tucker Carlson to promote Kennedy’s drop out and endorsement of Trump. His running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, also said this week that there has been “a lot of communication” between the two campaigns.
