Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his presidential campaign in an address to the nation Aug. 23 and endorsed Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy entered the race in April 2023, competing against President Joe Biden for the Democrat nomination, but later reoriented his campaign to run as an Independent.
Kennedy said at the press conference he could no longer promise his supporters a chance at victory.
“I cannot in good conscience ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours or ask my donors to keep giving, when I cannot honestly tell them that I have a real path to the White House,” Kennedy said.
Hours after the speech, Kennedy joined Trump at a campaign event in Arizona, where the former president praised the endorsement.
“[Kennedy] raised critical issues that have too long been ignored in this country and brought together people from across the political spectrum in a positive campaign,” Trump said.
Samantha Suchanek, junior in political science and vice-president of K-State Young Democrats, was not surprised Kennedy endorsed Trump over Harris.
“I think that the Democratic Party did an almost too good of a job at making some swift attacks against RFK Jr.’s campaign when it began, and it kind of isolated him from the party,” Suchanek said. “A lot of the liberal media told us [Kennedy’s campaign] wasn’t worth paying attention to because it wasn’t anywhere near credible, and they did a very good job removing his credibility.”
Thomas Adcock, junior in history, said Kennedy made a good political maneuver by endorsing Trump.
“[Kennedy] brought up in his speech that the Democrats are more worried, [telling voters] ‘Don’t vote for Trump, but for us,’ more than actual policy,” Adcock said. “So Kennedy dropping out and endorsing Trump, I think, was not only a great political move for himself but also a common realization that the Democrat party today is not the Democrat party he knew growing up.”
Last November, Kennedy polled 20% support in a three-way race with Biden and Trump according to a 2023 Reuters/Ipsos Poll. According to a PEW research report, Kennedy’s popularity dropped to 7% in August 2024 after Biden’s exit from the 2024 race.
Kansas State Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy director Colene Lind was surprised that low polling numbers led Kennedy to suspend rather than end his campaign outright.
“There probably wasn’t much of a chance for him winning anyway, and even he would agree that the only chance that he would have for winning the election would be if there was not a clear winner from the Electoral College, and the choice for president was thrown back into the U.S. House of Representatives,” Lind said. “Now I’ve always gotten the sense that his candidacy was more about making a point than actually being a serious or likely candidate for president, but he’s always said that he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t think he could win. So maybe he really thought he could win.”
Although Kennedy will remain on the presidential ballot in most states, he said he would remove himself from key battleground states probable to influence the election.
“Our polling consistently showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues: censorship, war and chronic disease,” Kennedy said. “In about ten battleground states, where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name, and I’ve already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me.”
Lind said Kennedy did “relatively well with young people” before suspending his campaign.
“Kennedy clearly said, ‘I’m anti-establishment, right? I’m revolutionary, I’m against the orthodoxy, I’m for freedom,’ and I guess young people find that appealing,” Lind said. “One of the positive things I will say about all of this is it gives me a little bit of hope that it’s not just pure ageism — the fact that some younger people could be behind Kennedy in spite of his age, you know?”
