2024 Election /

RFK Jr. Suggest Possibility Of Running As Libertarian Candidate

Libertarian National Committee Chair Angela McArdle: 'Lbertarians really admire the strong position he took against mandates and lockdowns'

Published: January 29, 2024
  |   By Chris Bertman
RFK Jr. Suggest Possibility Of Running As Libertarian Candidate

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. said he is considering running as a Libertarian in the November election.


Kennedy, who previously was a Democratic presidential candidate until late last year, said he was in talks with the Libertarian Party in an effort to secure his place on ballots in all 50 states during a Saturday appearance on CNN.

“That’s something that we’re looking at," Kennedy said. "We have a really good relationship with Libertarian Party.”

The independent candidate said he was expecting to speak at the upcoming California Libertarian Party convention and may speak during a related upcoming event in New York.

Chair of the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) Angela McArdle spoke highly of Kennedy in an audio clip played by CNN's Michael Smerconish.

“We’ve had a lot of good conversations and we’re on good terms," McArdle said. "I respect his decision to want to go independent. Though libertarians really admire the strong position he took against mandates and lockdowns, and so we’re going to stay on friendly terms and see what happens."

Smerconish encouraged Kennedy to "make some news" in reference to the Libertarian Party leader's praise.

“We are talking to the Libertarian Party and I feel very comfortable with most of the values of Libertarian Party," Kennedy responded. "We have good relationships. I’m talking regularly to Libertarian groups. So, we’ll continue to do those talks. ... I can’t give you a headline news story today, Michael. I’m sorry.”

Kennedy, a life-long Democrat, launched his presidential campaign in 2024 as a candidate of the party, though switched his party affiliation to independent last October.

The former Democratic presidential candidate said his political views had shifted in recent months after engaging in conversations with those holding different views.

“There have been independent candidates before but this time is going to be different because this time … the independent is going to win," Kennedy told a Philadelphia crowd when he launched his campaign in October.

“We declare ... independence from the corporations that have hijacked our government,” said Kennedy. “We declare independence from Wall Street, big tech, big pharma from big AG, and the military contractor and their lobbyists.”

Kennedy said President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who is currently the front-runner for the Republican nomination, were unfavorable to voters.

“I haven’t made this decision lightly,” Kennedy said, adding it was “very painful … to let go of the [Democratic] party” which his family has historically aligned with.

Several recent polls show Kennedy securing double digits in a general election against Biden and Trump, per RealClearPolitics.

The possibility of Kennedy running as a Libertarian received a mixed response from pundits on X, with a number of Libertarians and party affiliates rejecting the notion.














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