CNN is sounding the alarm about the 2024 impact of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying the support behind his campaign is "not a joke."
On Wednesday's installment of "Anderson Cooper 360," CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten outlined Kennedy's standing in the 2024 race, telling his colleague Anderson Cooper that the independent candidate appeals to voters "against the machine" and that it may sound "like a joke."
"But the fact is, it's not a joke," Enten said. "Look at his polling right now. He's polling at north of 15% nationally."
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Providing historical context, Enten compared the strength of Kennedy's support to famed independent candidate Ross Perot, who earned nearly 20% of the vote in the 1992 presidential election and nearly 10% in the 1996 election.
Enten couldn't definitively say whether Kennedy's presence in the race takes more support away from President Biden or former President Trump, as polls have given mixed signals showing a slight edge hurting Trump, but he was far more confident in predicting that adding Aaron Rodgers as his vice presidential candidate, as Kennedy has recently floated, would peel off even more voters from Trump.
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"If he decides that he's going to go down this road of nominating someone to be or choosing someone to be his vice president who is quote, unquote, ‘anti-vax,’ that could only hurt Donald Trump because the fact is, Republicans are more likely to be against the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccines in general than Democrats are," Enten said. "So this is something I think could definitely play out during the campaign and could have a major impact on the race."
The CNN reporter stressed that while it is an uphill battle for Kennedy to make the ballot in states like New York and California, he has already landed on the ballot in critical swing states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Nevada and is still aiming to get on the ballot in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
"In the states that are close that could actually make a difference in this campaign, the Electoral College, where it ultimately matters, RFK is going to be on the ballot. And based upon how he's polling at this particular point, he could in fact make a major difference and turn one loser into a winner and one winner into a loser," Enten said.
He went on to cite a Quinnipiac poll that shows nearly a third of Kennedy's supporters have "no opinion" of him but are backing his candidacy anyway, suggesting it's more in protest of Biden and Trump.
"And my question is, when they really learn about his views, will they stick by him? Based upon history, I will admit, I'm a little bit skeptical," Enten added.
The RealClearPolitics average has Kennedy reaching 15% in national polls in a three-way race against Biden and Trump, with the former president ahead of his 2020 rival by 4 points. A five-way race including independent candidate Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein has Kennedy's support at 12%, with Trump having a nearly 3-point advantage over Biden.
Kennedy first launched his campaign as a Democratic challenger to Biden but switched as an independent candidate after repeatedly clashing with the DNC, specifically over its refusal to hold primary debates.
He recently rejected the notion that he's a "spoiler" candidate in an interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto.
