Global Courant
CONCORD, NH – EXCLUSIVE – While Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Heading onto the campaign trail for the first time since launching his Democratic presidential campaign in April, he points to the latest national polls indicating he is gaining double digits while primarily challenging President Biden.
“The public polls speak for themselves,” Kennedy said in a national exclusive interview with Fox News Digital ahead of his trip Thursday to the key early voting state of New Hampshire.
The environmental advocate and high-profile vaccine critic, who is a scion of arguably the country’s most famous family political dynasty, is at 16% support in Fox News’ latest national poll in the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination race, with Biden at 62%. And the 69-year-old Kennedy received 20% support with the 80-year-old president at 60% in a CNN poll released last week.
Both surveys — which showed Marianne Williamson, the best-selling author and spiritual advisor who launched her second straight campaign for the Democratic nomination in March, was at 8% — pointed to potential problems for Biden as he seeks a second term in the White House.
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Kennedy noted that his campaign’s private polls “are even better” and emphasized that “we feel like we’re going to get a lot of Independents and Republican crossovers.”
“I think we’re doing really well, much better than expected,” added Kennedy Jr. please.
And while he wouldn’t reveal fundraising numbers until his campaign was due to be submitted in a month’s time at the end of the second quarter, Kennedy indicated that “we’re getting a good response” from donors.
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As he has noted, name recognition may account for some of Kennedy’s double-digit polling support during this early part of the 2024 election cycle. He is the son of the late Senator, Attorney General, and presidential nominee Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and the late longtime Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. And part of the support for Kennedy and Williamson may be a protest of sorts against a president whose approval ratings have remained negative for nearly two years.
Boston, MA – April 19: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces his candidacy for President of the United States in a speech at Boston Park Plaza. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Asked if he urged Williamson to quit and support his bid for the White House, Kennedy replied: “I wouldn’t ask Marianne to bow. I think it’s valuable to have as many votes in the race as possible and I think people should have a range of voice.”
“I’m all for Marianne coming in and talking about her issues and having some competition, which is part of democracy. This is not the Soviet system where the party picks the nominee,” he added.
Kennedy heads to the New Hampshire State House in Concord on Thursday morning, where he will address the Senate. Declared presidential candidates from both parties will have the opportunity to speak before the upper house of the state legislature this cycle. Kennedy is expected to answer questions from reporters following his speech to state lawmakers and then hold meetings in Manchester.
“We’re going to New Hampshire as it’s always been treated, as a major primary, a major indicator for the rest of the country, and a state where politicians should go to do retail politics,” Kennedy told Fox News.
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Kennedy sparked speculation about a possible run for the White House early this year by visiting New Hampshire, which has held the first primaries in the presidential nomination race for a century. He was joined on his trip to the state by his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, best known for playing Larry David’s wife on the popular HBO comedy series ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’.
Kennedy targeted Biden and the Democratic National Committee earlier this year for their decision to pull the New Hampshire presidential primary from his position of first in the national primary. New Hampshire will now vote second on the DNC’s calendar, along with Nevada, three days after South Carolina, under the DNC’s new schedule.
New Hampshire has held the nation’s first presidential primaries for over a century. A sign outside the state capitol in Concord, NH marks the state’s cherished primary status. (Fox news)
Prior to the DNC’s final approval of the schedule in early February, Kennedy wrote an open letter to the committee, urging members to keep New Hampshire in first place because of the state’s long history of advocating for civil rights and election transparency .
The DNC changed the nomination calendar in an effort to reflect more diversity in the Democratic Party, but Kennedy said New Hampshire already shows diversity in America. As a general election battleground state, he said, New Hampshire’s “four electoral votes could decide the 2024 election.”
But since New Hampshire is likely to push back the date of their primary — due to a state law requiring the state to hold its first presidential primary — the president will likely stay off New Hampshire’s ballot to avoid an unsanctioned primary.
“We’re going to New Hampshire as it’s always been treated, as a major primary, an important indicator for the rest of the country, and a state where politicians should go to do retail politics,” Kennedy stressed. “It’s an important ritual in American democracy.”
President Joe Biden speaks at the Winter Meeting of the Democratic National Committee on Friday, February 3, 2023 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (AP)
When asked about the clear possibility of Biden skipping the New Hampshire primary, Kennedy said, “I just think it’s wrong from a democracy standpoint.”
It’s been more than a month since Kennedy launched his presidential campaign. Asked why he spent so long in New Hampshire, Kennedy said, “We need to scale this campaign…we’ve been hiring, building our workforce, building our organization, and raising money.”
“I plan to spend a lot of time in New Hampshire this summer,” he stressed. “I don’t think the people of New Hampshire will feel neglected by me by the end of the summer.”
While Kennedy was once best known for his environmental efforts, over the past year and a half he has emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccination movement — and a host of public pundits and even members of his own family have advocated for his efforts. misleading and dangerous.
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Kennedy defended his work on vaccine skepticism, which could be a major liability among Democratic presidential primary voters.
Asked if his stance might hurt him at the ballot box, Kennedy replied, “I’m not leading on that issue. If people want to talk about that issue, of course I’m happy to talk about it. There are other issues that are much more important to Americans – the overarching issue of the systematic attack on the middle class and all the things that go with it, the inflation, the war, the destruction of our industrial base in this country, are all things I’m going to talk about.”
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter from New Hampshire.
