How third-party and independent candidates could threaten Democrats and Republicans in 2024
By STEVE PEOPLES
AP National Political Writer
Updated
In April of 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he is running for the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in the 2024 election. Kennedy comes from a long lineage of what many would consider the closest thing to a political dynasty—the Kennedy family. He is the nephew of f…
NEW YORK — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and scion of the storied Democratic dynasty, launched an independent presidential bid on Monday. Cornel West, a philosopher and Black social leader, made the same choice last week. And No Labels, a new political party, is intensifying candidate recruitment efforts.
FILE - Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with supporters at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and scion of the storied Democratic dynasty, is expected to launch an independent or third-party presidential bid on Monday, Oct 9. (Hans Gutknecht/The Orange County Register via AP, File)
FILE - Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein waits to speak at a board of elections meeting at City Hall, in Philadelphia, Oct. 2, 2019. Stein said the Green Party will likely make an announcement about its presidential aspirations later this month. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Harvard Professor Cornel West speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at the Whittemore Center Arena at the University of New Hampshire, Feb. 10, 2020, in Durham, N.H. West says he will run for president in 2024 as third-party candidate. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
FILE - Colored coordinated Presidential Primary Election ballots are organized by political parties for voters on June 7, 2016, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Porterville, Calif. While the politics are murky, the fresh frenzy of outsider candidates threatens to weaken both major parties as President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump tighten their grip on their party's presidential nominations. There’s little concern that the independent or third-party candidates would actually win the presidency, but they could siphon support from the ultimate Democratic and Republican nominees. (Chieko Hara/The Porterville Recorder via AP, File)
FILE - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., testifies before a House Judiciary Select Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and scion of the storied Democratic dynasty, is expected to launch an independent or third-party presidential bid on Monday, Oct 9. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - Harvard Professor Cornel West speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at the Whittemore Center Arena at the University of New Hampshire, Feb. 10, 2020, in Durham, N.H. West says he will run for president in 2024 as third-party candidate. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
FILE - Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein waits to speak at a board of elections meeting at City Hall, in Philadelphia, Oct. 2, 2019. Stein said the Green Party will likely make an announcement about its presidential aspirations later this month. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with supporters at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and scion of the storied Democratic dynasty, is expected to launch an independent or third-party presidential bid on Monday, Oct 9. (Hans Gutknecht/The Orange County Register via AP, File)
FILE - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., testifies before a House Judiciary Select Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 20, 2023. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and scion of the storied Democratic dynasty, is expected to launch an independent or third-party presidential bid on Monday, Oct 9. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE - Colored coordinated Presidential Primary Election ballots are organized by political parties for voters on June 7, 2016, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Porterville, Calif. While the politics are murky, the fresh frenzy of outsider candidates threatens to weaken both major parties as President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump tighten their grip on their party's presidential nominations. There’s little concern that the independent or third-party candidates would actually win the presidency, but they could siphon support from the ultimate Democratic and Republican nominees. (Chieko Hara/The Porterville Recorder via AP, File)
