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For months, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he plans to continue his long-shot challenge against President Biden in the Democratic primary rather than drop out to launch a third-party candidacy.
But lately Kennedy’s message seems to have changed, even publicly narration a voter who asked him about his plans kept his “options open.”
If Kennedy decides to leave the party of his famous father and uncles to run in the general election, a possible landing spot could be the Libertarian Party, which currently lacks a widely known candidate but has stood out to ensure access to the ballots.
In July, Kennedy met privately with Angela McArdle, chairwoman of the Libertarian Party, at a conference they were both attending in Memphis, a meeting that had not been previously reported.
“He emphasized that he was committed to running as a Democrat, but said he considered himself very libertarian,” McArdle said in an interview, adding that they agreed on several positions, including the threat of the “deep state” and the need for populist messages. “We are aligned on many issues.”
“My perspective is that we will stay in touch should he decide to run,” McArdle said. “And you can contact me at any time if that is the case.”
In a June interview with the libertarian magazine ReasonKennedy acknowledged his ideological disagreements with the party, including on issues such as environmental protection, abortion, and civil rights, while saying, “I have always been aligned with libertarians on most issues.”
In a general election, Democrats worry that a third party led by Kennedy could take votes away from Biden and help elect former President Donald J. Trump. They have raised similar concerns about No Labels, the bipartisan group trying to recruit a moderate candidate for a third-party candidacy, and also about progressive academic Cornel West, who is already in the race to lead the Green Party’s 2024 ticket. .
Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic group Third Way, has been helping coordinate Democratic efforts to stop the No Labels effort. He said the hope in the party has been that Kennedy would “go away” after losing the primary to Biden.
“It would be very bad” if Kennedy ran as a libertarian, Bennett said. “We have been very clear that third parties in close elections can be very dangerous and would almost certainly hurt the president. “That would be true for a No Labels candidate and it would also be true for RFK.”
Dennis Kucinich, Kennedy’s campaign manager, said there was “no truth” to the idea that Kennedy could run as a Libertarian. He said the meeting with McArdle simply offered “further evidence of Mr. Kennedy’s appeal across the political spectrum.”
“We have not sought favor from any other political party,” Kucinich said.
Ms. McArdle said the meeting, at the libertarian Freedom Fest convention, had been requested by Heal the Divide, a pro-Kennedy super PAC, and that she spoke with Mr. Kennedy for nearly an hour but had had no further meetings. She met separately with other leaders of the libertarian movement at the conference, she added.
Kennedy, perhaps best known for his conspiracy theories about vaccine safety, would likely become a favorite to win the Libertarian nomination given his national name recognition.
In Democratic primaries, Kennedy trails Biden for approximately 50 pointsaccording National survey average of 538, and his bet against the incumbent president is not considered competitive. He has argued that Biden’s allies on the Democratic National Committee are trying to push him out of the race, even hosting the party’s first primary in the Biden-friendly state of South Carolina.
In earlier comments, Kennedy pledged to remain with the party long identified with the Kennedy clan. Late last month, Mr. Kennedy said Fox News that his mission was “to call on the Democratic Party to return to its traditional ideals.”
But more recently, Kennedy seemed to hint that that might change. In response to a South Carolina voter’s question this month about whether he would launch an independent bid, Kennedy said the Democratic National Committee is “trying to make sure that I can’t participate in the political process at all, so I’m going.” To do it”. to keep all my options open,” according to ABC News.
Polls have shown that a growing number of Americans are dissatisfied with both major political parties. But they have also expressed little appetite for third parties.
In 2016, moderate Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, and his running mate, former Governor William F. Weld of Massachusetts, received 3.3 percent of the popular vote. That was the best performance by a third-party candidate since Ross Perot ran in the Reform Party election in 1996.
In an interview Friday, Johnson said he thought Kennedy might have a hard time winning over Libertarian voters given that he is now a Democrat. But he said he would favor Kennedy over the current and former president in a general election, should they all win their respective nominating contests.
“If Kennedy makes it through the process and becomes the Libertarian nominee, I would vote for him in a heartbeat,” Johnson said, “because he’s not Biden or Trump.”
Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting from Washington. Kirsten Noyes contributed to the research.