Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Will Run for President as an Independent

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday he will run as an independent instead of challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination.

“I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate for president of the United States,” Kennedy told supporters at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“We declare independence from the cynical elites who betray our hope and who amplify our divisions. And finally, we declare independence from the two political parties,” he added.

The Kennedys have been synonymous with the Democrat party for decades; however, believing that the nomination process was skewed against him, RFK Jr. decided to become an independent.

Members of the Kennedy family said his decision was “deeply saddening” and “perilous for our country.”

Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said in a joint statement, “Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment.”

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Despite the statement, his children support his bid, and his daughter-in-law, Amaryllis Fox, is the comanager of his campaign.

The RFK Jr. campaign has long fought to open up the Democrat nomination process.

Former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) asked the Democrat National Committee (DNC) for a more competitive primary in a letter last month. The super PAC backing Kennedy also protested outside a DNC meeting in D.C.

Polling has shown mixed signals as to if the presidential candidate would draw more support from Donald Trump supporters or Biden supporters.

American Values 2024, the super PAC backing Kennedy, released a poll showing that Kennedy could pull more support from Trump supporters, while an Echelon Insights poll found that Kennedy’s independent bid may help Trump and hurt Biden.

Kennedy has proven to be an effective fundraiser:

From his announcement in April through the end of June, his campaign committee has raised $6.3 million, on par with a recent quarterly total from Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Another impressive haul is expected for the third quarter of this year, which included a multimillion-dollar fundraiser with a rock concert performance from Eric Clapton and a blockbuster day of testimony from Kennedy on Capitol Hill.

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Robert F. Kennedy

American Values 2024 recently announced it had raised $5 million, adding to the $10 million it had raised by the end of June.

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that Kennedy has sided with many leftist causes.

“RFK Jr. cannot hide from his record of endorsing Hillary, supporting the Green New Deal, fighting against the Keystone Pipeline, and praising AOC’s tax hikes — he is your typical liberal and voters won’t be fooled.”

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.