Kennedy, a member of one of the most famous Democratic families in politics, has been polling 47 points behind Joe Biden in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. With better favorability ratings among Republicans, he announced yesterday that he will officially declare himself an independent candidate.
Robert Knight, a columnist for The Washington Times, submits that the Democrats, who have gone out of their way to hinder Kennedy's bid for the nomination, cannot be happy about this.
"This is the Democrats' worst nightmare," says Knight. "Kennedy has enormous appeal to many Democrats, if only because of his name. But also … he's been courageous in taking on Big Pharma and other giant entities. He could pull enough Democrat votes to make the Republican -- whoever that nominee is -- a shoo-in."
He is, however, slightly concerned about the prospect of Kennedy joining the Libertarian Party.
"If he identifies as a Libertarian, that's another thing entirely. The Libertarian Party often cuts into the Republican count, so it all depends on how Kennedy portrays himself," the columnist explains. "If he strikes out as a Libertarian, which I don't think he is, that would be a stretch for him. That could hurt Republicans."
Knight adds, though, that Libertarians tend to be anti-government, and he does not think the Kennedy family has ever been anti-government.
Brian Camenker, who leads MassResistance, tells AFN he knows many Republicans who warmed to Kennedy over his anti-vaccine stance during the COVID pandemic.
"I'm not a big fan of his personally because, to me, he's just another leftist who I happen to agree with on that particular issue," Camenker says.
It was disappointing when Kennedy dropped out of the Democratic primary, he adds, because now there is no primary fight with Biden.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comments from Brian Camenker.
