There is growing support among members of the Libertarian Party to recruit Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be their presidential nominee in November.
Kennedy, who is running as an independent after withdrawing from challenging President Joe Biden in the Democrat primaries, spoke at the Libertarian Party of California's annual convention on Jan. 30, along with another independent candidate, Cornel West.
"There's a buzz going on, and there's a lot of interest in him," Ron Nielson, former campaign manager for Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson in 2012 and 2016, told The Hill. "If he were to say that he [was] to accept the nomination of the Libertarian Party, that would probably change a lot of heads. There are people within the Liberty movement that would like to help him."
A source in Kennedy's circle told The Hill he is "a rogue punk rocker of the political system."
"There is a willingness of people in the Liberty movement to consider Bobby, for sure," the source, speaking on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss internal campaign dynamics, said.
Kennedy, who could be the most consequential third-party candidate since Ross Perot in 1992, is trying to present himself as the middle-ground alternative to Biden and former President Donald Trump.
But he has been struggling to secure enough signatures to get his name on state ballots. He reportedly is officially on only three – Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Utah – and a Super PAC supporting him, American Values 2024, reportedly said it has gathered enough signatures to place him on the ballots in Arizona and Georgia.
But linking to the Libertarian Party, which was on the ballot in all 50 states in 2020, could help ease any pressure Kennedy faces for gaining ballot access.
"I am seeing on the ground and hearing from other politicos in the independent space that there is a unique coalition that they're attempting to build," Christopher Thrasher, an independent ballot access consultant with a longtime former association with the Libertarian Party, told The Hill. "It really does transcend party lines.
"No matter what, part of their calculation is — whether it's pre-general election or actually in the general election — activating as many individuals across an ideological spectrum as possible. The Libertarian Party and Libertarian events and conventions plays into that strategy."