U.S.Politics: Sorry, Biden Backers and Pollsters: RFK Jr. Is a ‘Serious Primary Challenger’
Robert Kennedy Jr.
Douglas MacKinnon
As the Scottish proverb from 1626 reminds us: “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” With that in mind, here’s how it might apply to the Biden White House, some in the Democratic Party, and many in the mainstream media: “If wishes could be made reality, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign would be consigned to the ‘slag heap’ of politics.” Unfortunately for them, wishes are not reality: Kennedy continues to gain steam in his quest to challenge the sitting Democratic president in 2024.
Yet, some on the left seem to be of the mindset still that telling a fable often enough makes it become a fact. One example: a recent FiveThirtyEight article headlined, “Why Biden Probably Won’t Get A Serious Primary Challenger.”
The site aims to be “politically neutral,” though some Republicans and conservatives I know label some content as “left-leaning.” I think it’s safe to say that all who support Kennedy’s White House campaign consider him to be a “serious primary challenger” to Biden.
How serious? Well, as recently reported by the New York Times and others, American Values 2024, a political action committee supporting Kennedy, announced it had raised $10.25 million for his campaign. Tony Lyons, Kennedy’s publisher and the super PAC’s co-chair, said the amount included two “very large” donations, each exceeding $1 million. He said the contributions came from a “right down the middle” mix of Republicans and Democrats.
What is really of interest in a “serious primary challenger” kind of way is that, as of the first week of June, the PAC had only about $5.7 million on hand.
Another political action committee, the California-based Common Sense PAC, hosted a fundraiser for Kennedy in San Francisco last month, aiming to attract supporters from the high-tech community. It reported raising almost $1 million at the event.
Money from any PAC supporting Kennedy is separate from what’s pouring into his campaign. On one recent Friday alone, during a 24-hour timeframe, the campaign said it brought in $1 million.
Additionally, since announcing his run for president on April 19, by my count, Kennedy has gained approximately 1 million followers on Twitter. He is catching fire with voters for two reasons.
The first is his general message, encapsulated on his Twitter handle: “As President, I will end the forever wars, clean up government, restore the middle class, and tell Americans the truth.” That’s starting to resonate with some voters. How much? A Quinnipiac University poll in June found that 40% of Republicans viewed Kennedy favorably, as did 31% of independents and 25% of Democrats. Those are numbers the Kennedy camp believes will only climb with time.
The second reason Kennedy’s message is catching on with voters and donors is that a growing number of Americans across the board believe that President Biden’s age, apparent frailty and perceived cognitive issues should make him rethink his quest to serve a second term. Though Biden has announced he’ll run, I believe his age and health will force him to withdraw from the race at some point.
With that prediction in mind, just this past Thursday, CNN ran an article that began with this opening: “The conversations keep happening — quiet whispers on the sidelines of events, texts, emails, furtive phone calls — as top Democrats and donors reach out to those seen as possible replacement presidential candidates. Get ready, they urge, in conversations that aides to several of the people involved have described to CNN: Despite what he has said, despite the campaign that has been announced, President Joe Biden won’t actually be running for reelection.”
Shocking? Not for some who are truly paying attention and not in the tank for the president.
It’s sad and embarrassing to witness Biden’s verbal gaffes, such as one during his NATO summit speech in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he pronounced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s name as “Vladimir,” like that of Russian President Putin. If criticism of his apparent frailty continues, his public appearances and statements could become more problematic for him, the White House and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The DNC soon may be forced to announce that it is actively seeking other candidates to run for the party’s nomination in 2024. If that happens, Kennedy would have a tremendous head start on other candidates who might join the field. Also running is Marianne Williamson, though her polling numbers are low.
So that leaves RFK Jr. as the only announced “serious primary challenger”that Biden faces at the moment — and the White House, the Democratic Party, and some American voters know this. As I see it, the Democratic nomination is about to be up for grabs.
Douglas MacKinnon served in the White House as a writer for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and afterward in a joint command at the Pentagon.
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