RFK, Jr. Declines Libertarian Run

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy said that he would not be running for president under the Libertarian Party after considerable speculation that he would seek the party’s support. The news could be negative news for the candidate as the Libertarian Party has received the third-largest share of the presidential popular vote in the last two election cycles.

Kennedy said that he did not need to run under the Libertarian Party banner because his campaign would not “have any problems getting on the ballot ourselves.” The candidate said during a campaign event in West Des Moines, Iowa as he sought to gain enough support to get on the state’s ballot.

Kennedy said that he was “100% confident that his campaign would be able to bring together enough signatures for the ballot in all 50 states.

The candidate said that his campaign aimed to add “two to three states a week.” In rejecting the Libertarian Party the candidate will rely on a created independent We the People Party.

RFK Jr. will not seek the Libertarian Party nomination, putting to rest debate over whether he could win it.

“There are several people running for the Libertarian nomination, and just about any of them would represent us better than Bobby would,” @RealSpikeCohen says. pic.twitter.com/eTFUOBVJt3

— Caroline McCaughey (@TheCarolineMc) April 14, 2024

Kennedy claimed that he was going to win the election and was polling in the single and double digits in national polling. The candidate said that a recent New York Times/Siena poll that placed him at 2% was potentially biased.

“And I leave it to you to speculate as to why the New York Times would do that,” he said.

Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle did not comment at the time on the issue, though the party has not endorsed a candidate for president yet.

The candidate spoke of a possible run with the party, stating that he agreed with several of its key positions including regarding the free market.

However, Kennedy has been a significant environmental activist and supported a number of left-wing political causes.

The candidate also took a number of positions that stood against the standard libertarian ideology. In the past, he endorsed the Green New Deal and is seeking to ban nuclear power and hydrofracking. He further called for a national wealth tax and to ban many types of semiautomatic weapons.