Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to select attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential running mate later this month, according to an exclusive report by Mediaite published on Saturday.
In addition to being an attorney, Nicole Shanahan is the president of the Bia-Echo Foundation and the former CEO of ClearAccessIP. Although she doesn’t have a political background, Shanahan is a philanthropist who has given millions to issue-specific initiatives, including programs aiding women in conceiving later in life, efforts to reform the criminal justice system, and projects addressing climate change. Shanahan was also reportedly a large donor to the pro-Kennedy campaign ad that aired during February’s Super Bowl.
According to the report, which cites an anonymous source within the Kennedy campaign, the campaign has been seeking a vice presidential candidate capable of offsetting the financial costs associated with seeking ballot access. Additionally, earlier reports suggesting Kennedy’s consideration of Aaron Rodgers as his running mate reportedly raised “concerns” among his donors.
While the Kennedy campaign hasn’t confirmed the selection of Shanahan, the report indicates that the domain www.kennedyshanahan.com was registered just last week by a senior advisor within the Kennedy campaign. Readers can view the full Mediaite report here.
Kennedy is anticipated to announce his choice of running mate on March 26, 2024 at an event in Oakland, California.
TLK, yes, Tulsi has been evolving, as RFK has as well. My point is mostly about optics and positioning…she’s a former D, now independent, as RFK is, too. She exudes poise and credibility, is my take, and reasonably strong credentials.
I may still write you in, but if RFK is polling well in October, I might hold my nose and vote for him. The way I look at it there might be some upsides with RFK (and downsides, assuredly so.) There is NO upside with Trump and Biden. And I’d love to see our politics open up, where the so-called “two-party system” is upended.
I really dislike RFK’s housing plan (which I doubt he could pull off) and man has he disappointed me on Gaza, given how good he’s been on Ukraine. If he had taken something like Vivek’s middle path on Gaza, I suspect he’d be polling much better than he is now.
Shanahan could certainly bring the money.
Rogers or Ventura would have brought a certain amount of publicity., but not really of the kind likely to end up driving fundraising and votes.
Gabbard just really has nothing much to offer. Sequential self-re-creations produce diminishing returns.
I was hoping No Labels would seriously consider a Tulsi Gabbard/Liz Cheney ticket but that appears to be out of the question now.
Jake, it’s of course hard to say. Assuming RFK’s team assumes that ballot access is their single biggest obstacle and without an infusion of cash, they are likely to fall short of 50 state ballot access, Shanahan is likely their best bet. (I can even imagine that she would promise to resign after the election. It would have to be proposed with tact.)
Rodgers feels un-serious to me. Ventura, too, although he at least was a guv, but also comes across as a loose cannon.
I was sorta hoping Tulsi would be his pick, but it appears she’s more interested in being Trump’s running mate.
So, I’m curious. Is this better or worse than his initial considerations of current New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers and former pro wrestler and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse “The Body” Ventura?
Interesting pick, if true. This would remind me of David Koch as the LP’s VP selection, mostly as a means to fund the campaign and ballot access efforts.