Throughout the year, political analysts have struggled to figure out if Robert Kennedy Jr’s quixotic, worm-brained presidential candidacy was hurting the Democratic ticket or the Republican ticket. Kennedy is only polling at 1% in most states, 3% at most (within the margin of error). Earlier on, there was the belief that Kennedy hurt the then-Biden-Harris ticket more, that Kennedy was pulling Democratic-leaning swing voters. But throughout the year, it’s felt more like Kennedy is actually pulling votes away from the Trump campaign – voters whose identity-politics are wrapped up in being anti-vaccine and pandemic conspiracists. All of which to say, Kennedy’s campaign probably started as a way for Republicans to ratf–k the election, but now that we’re entering the final stretch, a lot of powerful people are trying to usher Kennedy off the stage. Speaking of:

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought a meeting last week with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris to discuss the possibility of serving in her administration, perhaps as a Cabinet secretary, if he throws his support behind her campaign and she wins, according to Kennedy campaign officials.

Harris and her advisers have not responded with an offer to meet or shown interest in the proposal, say people familiar with the conversations.

The Kennedy outreach, made through intermediaries, follows a meeting in Milwaukee last month between Kennedy and Republican nominee Donald Trump to discuss a similar policy role and endorsement that resulted in no agreement. In those discussions, Kennedy spoke about advising Trump in a second term on health and medical issues.

The independent candidate and namesake of the most famous American political dynasty is exploring multiple options for the future of his presidential effort, which has seen a decline in national polling since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. His campaign has produced polling, which it has tried to share with Democrats, that it claims shows both Harris and Trump would get a boost in their public support across 31 states if either candidate announced publicly that Kennedy would have a Cabinet role in their administration.

[From WaPo]

The Harris campaign refusing to engage with Kennedy tells me a lot about what their internal polls are saying. There has likely been a significant shift in recent months, where Kennedy is hurting Trump more than he’s hurting the Democrats. Plus, Kamala Harris and her people simply want no part of the brain worms or dead-bear-transport. If Harris and Walz pay any attention to Kennedy, that will hurt them more than help them. I also expect the larger Kennedy family to make some moves in the final months of the election cycle – my guess is that Caroline Kennedy will probably have a very prominent speaking role at the DNC next week.

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