Global Courant 2023-05-19 05:20:11
A longtime Democratic figure and former presidential candidate stepped back onto the public political scene Thursday when it was announced he will serve as campaign manager for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to defeat President Biden for the party’s 2024 nomination.
Dennis Kucinich, a former Ohio congressman who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 against then-senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, has been advising Kennedy for months and introduced him last month at the Boston campaign kickoff .
Kennedy’s campaign made the nomination official a press release he praised Kucinich’s experience, calling him “one of the most important progressive voices in American politics.”
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Former Ohio congressman and presidential nominee Dennis Kucinich (left) and Democratic presidential nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (right). (Getty Images)
“Dennis Kucinich has brought invaluable electoral experience to our campaign,” Kennedy said in a statement. “He knows how the system works from the inside out, and his depth of business knowledge and his personal integrity are completely aligned with the core values our campaign brings to American politics.”
Since launching his campaign last month, Kennedy has received a significant chunk of support from Democrats who chose not to support Biden for re-election. According to a Fox News poll released April 27, 19% of Democratic primary voters said they would support Kennedy, while 9% said they would support author Marianne Williamson.
Support for Kennedy and Williamson made up more than a quarter of the Democratic primary voters who participated in the poll. However, it found that Biden still had support from 62% of the party.
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Democratic presidential nominee Marianne Williamson campaigns in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on March 9, 2023. (Marianne Williamson Campaign)
Kennedy and Williamson have denounced the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) plan not to hold primary debates between the three candidates, although it is common practice for the party in power to avoid primaries when it is in control of the White House.
Both Williamson and Kennedy have also made New Hampshire a prime target of their race since the DNC changed the order of the primaries. The national party knocked New Hampshire out of first place, but the state will likely hold an unsanctioned primary on the desired date — meaning Biden may not even appear on the primary ballot in that contest.
President Joe Biden speaks on the economy at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 77 facility in Accokeek, Maryland, on April 19, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
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Paul Steinhauser and Houston Keene of Fox News contributed to this report.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
